York Region Arborist Explains the Respiration of Trees
It\’s well-known that trees extract carbon dioxide from the air and provide the oxygen that we and other animal life need for breathing. What\’s less well-known is why trees do this. The short answer is to make their own food. A tree is made up of plant cells that require fuel for living and growing. This fuel or \”food\” is in the form of sugars and starches. Unlike animals, trees make their own food using carbon dioxide in the air and water drawn from their roots. They use energy from sunlight to drive this food production in a process called photosynthesis. Oxygen is then released into the air as a byproduct.
The cells of trees \”consume\” this food (sugar) just like animals do through the same process of respiration. That is, oxygen combines with the sugar to produce energy, which drives tree cell activity and growth. This process produces water and carbon dioxide that are released into the air.
Tree Respiration Isn\’t Breathing
While both plants and animals use respiration to produce energy, respiration isn\’t the same thing as breathing. Technically, plants don\’t breathe. However, some people may describe the respiration process of plants very loosely as a kind of \”breathing.\”
Because tree cells are active both day and night, trees must respire (use respiration) day and night. Since photosynthesis requires sunlight, trees only do this during the day. Therefore, trees produce both oxygen and carbon dioxide during the day from both photosynthesis and respiration.
However, they produce more oxygen than carbon dioxide during this time. On the other hand, trees only produce carbon dioxide at night. Overall, trees (and all plants) are net producers of oxygen and net consumers of carbon dioxide.
While tree leaves have access to oxygen in the air for respiration, tree roots must absorb oxygen from the soil. This is why much of a tree\’s root system is no deeper than one meter. Beyond this depth, the soil is less aerated. This also explains why soil compaction and excessive watering can kill tree roots because both reduce the oxygen content in the soil.
In summary, plants and animals are similar in that they both require oxygen to live via respiration. Unlike animals, trees make their own food through photosynthesis.
If you have any questions or require our consulting services, our York Region arborists are here to help. Contact us at Advanced Tree Care. You can follow along on Facebook and Instagram, or you can contact us here if you have any questions.
