How to protect your Trees from Climate change

Urban trees, as well as trees out in the country and a forest, are all under attack by Climate change. Climate change is happening too fast for trees to adapt. Too fast to allow them to change. Many trees are moving to higher altitudes. But what about those trees that are Urban Trees. What do they do to survive? Cities are getting hotter and hotter while others are getting drier or even colder depending on where in the world they are to be found.

Talk to any scientist that studies trees and their effects on the local population and they will tell you that trees are a critical part of the ecology and the effects they have on the population that lives nearby.

We all know that trees take in Carbon Dioxide and release Oxygen and water vapor. This vapor also cools the surroundings. They take this CO2 and assimilate it and then take what they need out of it into their tissues, which allows them to continue to grow. Trees absorb and store a massive amount of carbon, and yearly they continue to absorb CO2.

Trees in a forest environment behave differently than their counterparts that live in a city environment.

In the forest, no one is watering them, fertilizing them. They do that themselves. The forest floor is a fantastic Ecosystem on its own; It provides the minerals and everything the trees need to survive and be healthy trees.

The forest floor is like our stomach, full of the microbiological life that the whole “body” depends on.

Then how do city trees survive without this microbial family that feeds and protects them?

Trees are a natural air conditioner providing moisture into the air through photosynthesizing. A forest will be cooler than single trees in the city. Especially since urban trees live in amongst streets, sidewalks buildings. All of which retain and give off heat.

There is not much an individual can do to help the forest out besides staying away, but there is a lot a person can do to the trees on his property. It is true that climate change is affecting insects and making them more active in attacking trees that are stressed out. It is also a relatively straightforward matter of reducing the trees stresses.

That is what I wish to talk about today.

Trees are being attacked from several sources. They are being attacked by humans and their bad agriculture/arbor practices. They are being assaulted by toxins from human activity including streets, sidewalks, cars, dogs, etc. Trees are also being attacked by insects. As it gets warmer, insects become more active and grow faster. They respond to heat. They seem to know that heat is a problem for trees and so take advantage of this.

It all comes down to trace minerals. When anyone is stressed out, they are not absorbing the minerals they need. Same for a tree. A tree can get stressed out for many reasons (just like us humans). They can get stressed out simply by you backing up your car into it or by dumping a can of oil or spilling gasoline or fertilizing it with a high nitrogen chemical fertilizer. High nitrogen will inhibit the trees ability to intake the proper minerals it needs for healthy functioning. Whenever any living thing becomes trace mineral deficient, it becomes “food” for pests and diseases. This includes us.

In the insect world, insects have evolved over time to know when a tree or plant is perfect for them and their children to eat. More on this next column.

High Heat will stress out a tree and cause the tree to slow down its intake of CO2. This will cause the tree also to grow slowly. So while more CO2 in air is usually perfect for trees, combined with higher heat, it is not. The trees slow down and exchange less CO2 and thereby hang on to what water they have.

The key here is to understand a few things that we do have control.

First off, we can help our urban trees by making sure they have a proper soil environment. This includes providing for the proper microbial. Through compost applications and if the compost is made correctly and alive, through proper deep watering techniques, through proper organic fertilizations done in a timely matter, and through remineralization.

We must remember that we are living in a desert and therefore we should not expect a tropical tree to grow in a desert environment. You can help the tree to survive as long as it can, but the tree was not meant to grow there. Some trees adapted themselves well to this climate and environment.

But, you have what you have on your property. So it is best to take care of them now.

During these next few months, with the weather changing to fall and winter, we must take the necessary steps in protecting your property, and all of its trees from the next few years heat wave. By protecting the soil, allowing the water to stay underground and watering deeply less often (and not shallow and daily), we are encouraging the trees to have deeper root systems.  Same for the lawn. Do you want a lawn? Do not water it daily but teach it to use twice per week waterings instead. Cut the grass taller, (about 4 inches will get you deeper roots).

So apply rock dust, compost and then a thin layer of mulch like azalea/gardenia mix. You may then cover that with wood chips. Keep the water buried and teach the gardeners to watch out for them.  Water at night, and once a week is good for most trees. By doing this, your property will thrive in the coming years while your neighbors will die. Foliar spraying along with deep root organic fertilizations will also provide them minerals etc., they need.

Any questions? Email me andylopez@invisiblegardener.com response next article

Andy Lopez

Invisible Gardener