For Immediate Release:

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Trees and Underground Water

We are all acutely aware of the current drought. We also know that many trees are dying around us. Many in the natural forest and in the countrysides as well as in our front or back yards. Yes, the drought is dangerous for many reasons, but it has been made worse for the trees because of human misuse of water. Especially the groundwater.
Trees have evolved over millions of years to handle these types of drought. Those that have access to water and in turn the nutrients needed for their growth survive and those that do not have access to water will die. They will become weak and become food for the insects and diseases. That is their job.
There is one thing very different with this current drought, and that is humans. To be specific, what humans have done. Most of us know that the ongoing climate changes are happening through human activities. Droughts come, and droughts go, but they develop over much more extended time periods then the current one has developed allowing trees and animals to adapt the changes.
This current climatic change not only is happening much faster than ever before but we humans are also compounding the problem.
Here in California, we have drained down our underground water supplies to the point where parts of California is sinking. What many folks do not realize is that it is this very same underground water that trees have evolved to depend upon during such a drought as we are having. If you take water out from one part of California, all of California underground water will go down too. They are all interconnected. Take enough water out, and the water level drops. Drop it enough, and the deep root systems of the trees will not reach it to get the water they need and so even in the forest they are dying. Only the trees with the deepest roots are surviving.
I understand being a farmer and having to deal with the drought and also knowing that you are sitting on top of billions of gallons of water and since it is your land, then the water must be yours too and why no use it? I understand that. The farmer with the deepest wells will get the water and the others will not. Same with the trees.
Farmers are drillings wells deeper and deeper. Getting at the water that they believe is theirs to use.
However, remember when I said all the underground water is connected?
A simple example is you have two farmers say 50 miles apart (they have big farms). One farmer well is 300 feet down, and the other farmers well are 500 feet down. Well, the farmer with the deeper well will get the water and the farmer with the 300 foot well, will stop getting water once the water drops down below his 300 foot well. Any person with any brains will tell you that the farmer with the deeper well is taking water from the farm with the shorter well. So the water belongs to both of them. Actually, the farmer with the deepest well is also taking the very same water away from everyone else including the trees. So he is basically stealing the water from us and the trees. I would argue that it is the trees that this water belongs to and not just the farmer with the deepest well. Just because it is below your feet does not mean it is yours.
While it is not much, we can do to help the forest. Well, there is, and that is to pass a law that you can only have a well a defined level down and not lower then that and that we need to start refilling that underground water if we want to have any trees left.
So while we work out the underground water problem, there are many things we can do to help the trees out. First off the state should plan on providing deeper watering to the trees on their properties, as well as military properties and then there are the cities. All cities should think about recycling their water and allocating a certain amount that will go back to the underground water.
As for homeowners, we must start to water our trees in a better way then we are now. Watering the lawn and thinking you are also watering your trees is not exactly right. Yes, the trees are getting some water. The upper-level roots are getting watered. But what about the deep tap roots that most trees have? The roots of trees are classified as to either having a tap root like oaks, pines, walnut, hickory or having a fibrous root system such as maples, ash, cottonwood. Under right soil conditions, taproot grows downward vertically. How deep do they go is another story but they can go very deep into the earth. The taproot also has secondary roots that actively seek water. The trees with fibrous roots seek their water within a specific area of topsoil and can go down into the topsoil seeking water but not as deep as the ones with the tap roots. These trees will have a harder time surviving than the trees with deeper root systems. In both cases, we have damaged the topsoil to the point that the root system does not have much to work on.
As homeowners, we must start to provide the trees with both more topsoil and a deeper watering system. A Drip system will provide this deeper watering if done correctly. Topsoil is essential here and should be applied every year to protect the soil from the drought damage. Trees should get a deep watering once a month depending on soil conditions.

Do not wait until your trees are dying to begin to correct this problem because then it will be too late.

Any questions?
andy Lopez
Invisible Gardener
andylopez@invisiblegardener.com