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Trees Are Parents Too

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Trees are key to environmental balance. The benefits they provide to the planet include improving air quality, regulating the climate and providing habitat for thousands of species.

parent trees

Trees are key to environmental balance, the benefits they bring to the planet include improving air quality, regulating the climate and forming the habitat of thousands of species.

For this reason, in some international cultures, trees are part of symbolisms related to life and fatherhood.

This belief is not so alien to natural reality, because there are trees called "parents" or "seed trees". The University of Lleida, located in Spain, defines these trees as those specimens that through their seeds are capable of reforesting an area, especially after a fire.

Although some plants reproduce naturally, the truth is that sometimes human intervention is required to plant new trees, for which you have to collect seeds. However, the seeds or fruits of parent trees have special characteristics, since they come from strong, healthy, vigorous trees that are free of pests.

Some of the characteristics that determine a seedling tree is its structure and health. For example: A good height, a good trunk, a trunk neither dry nor rotten, without pests, leafy at the top and generally older than 8 years of age.

These characteristics will allow strong new trees to be born, capable of surviving and reforesting a damaged area. This is a priority, as restoring a region where it was previously environmentally healthy is one of the most important actions to combat environmental problems.

To collect the seeds of a seedling tree, without damaging it, the seeds are generally collected after their natural fall, or by means of manual shaking. However, there are climbing and collection techniques that are not harmful to the parent tree that help to collect the seeds at the top, and to repopulate the forests for a longer time.

To reforest It involves recovering soils affected by erosion, mitigating the effects of climate change, since trees help capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and improve the water cycle by reducing the evaporation of this natural resource.

According to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), in Mexico, some species of parent trees are more effective in rehabilitating certain ecosystems, for example, pines are ideal for temperate forests, mahogany for tropical forests and mesquite for arid regions.

If you are thinking of plant a tree near your home, now you know the importance of having seeds that come from strong and healthy parents, as well as choosing the species that survive the climate of your locality.

Sources: CONABIO, SEMARNAT and UDL.

Frequently asked questions from our readers:

No, trees are not parents in the biological sense since they do not have the capacity to reproduce sexually and give rise to new plants. However, they can be considered “parents” in a metaphorical sense, as they provide protection, food and shelter to many species of animals and plants. Read more here: https://www.equilibriumx.com/ecoturismo-y-conservacion/los-arboles-tambien-son-padres
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Last modified: March 21, 2024