Trees of Belfast

Trees of Belfast

Trees, shrubs, carbon sequestration

Fred Bowers

October 28, 2021

I'm concerned about Belfast's trees, and I feel that maintaining a healthy tree and shrub population will assist us in surviving and adapting to climate change.

The trees of Belfast are one of our great natural resources. Trees provide cooling shade and habitat for birds. The trees create a beautiful forest canopy and they capture rain water and remove carbon from the atmosphere. Trees sequester carbon in their roots. When decaying leaves are allowed to compost onsite, the carbon remains in the soil and in the ground rather than immediately entering the atmosphere. Trees produce oxygen, which we need in abundance. We are lucky to have so many trees and we can say we have an urban forest, and we should be proud of that, and we will benefit by keeping our city that way.

But sometimes, big trees are problematic for city dwellers. They compete with lawns, they drop tons of leaves each year, and they can fall down during “Nor'easters” and ice storms. Some trees are plagued by diseases, like Ash borer and Brown tail moth, that weaken or kill big old trees, and then trees are doomed, and we all agree that they should be marked for removal for the sake of our survival, but we should consider our responsibility to maintain a healthy forest for the next generations.

So, I am concerned that trees are being eliminated faster than they are being replanted. Eventually, if this is true, there will be no trees or leaves and brush to worry about, but there may be no habitat or beautiful forest for future generations. That situation would be a big loss for the environment and for humanity.

When we plant a tree that takes decades to mature, we may never see it in its full glory, but we will know that we are doing the right thing for posterity. However, if we also plant woody shrubs and perennials as understory plants, and plant both shrubs and young large trees, we can enjoy the benefits of vegetation now, while still benefiting the future generations of Belfast residents. And, we can refer to experts such as the Waldo County Soil and Water Conservation District to help choose recommended trees and shrubs trees suitable for the ecosystem we live in.

So, I hope that the citizens of Belfast can plant more trees, shrubs, perennials and pollinators, and I hope that we will try to maintain a healthy, sustainable, urban forest. I hope that we can also reduce our carbon footprint directly, by encouraging carbon from grass clippings and leaves to stay in the soil. We can also help the global environment and reduce air pollution by using efficient electric mowers and weed trimmers and saws.