Friday, December 16, 2011

Tree Farming: A Look Inside

  
Image taken from down2earthonline.com

 How much do you know about tree farming?
Many of you may be thinking Christmas tree farming right now, especially if you went out and cut down a fresh one like my family did. But that isn't they type of tree farming I am referring to. I'm talking about the 11 million individual owners of private forests in the U.S., who use their land to plant and harvest trees to generate income. Over 90 percent of wood harvested to make the paper and wood products we use everyday, comes from these private landowners.

Not only does an important raw material--wood--for the forest products industry come from this land, but forests provide critical ecological and social benefits as well. Land ownership is not free, and without a positive economic balance, many land owners decide to sell their land for development. (Think strip malls instead of forests).

When we lose our forests, we lose valuable ecological and social benefits including:
  • Carbon sequestration
  • Wildlife habitat
  • Clean water
  • Scenic beauty and recreation
 So what is tree farming:
  • It's a continuous cycle that takes about 35 years
  • It's planting 3 trees for every one harvested
  • It's private landowners planting 4 million trees per day
  • It's responsibly harvesting trees for wood products
  • It's managing the land for clean air and water, and for biodiversity



You can help support responsible forestry and the millions of tree farmers in the U.S. by your continued use of paper and other wood-based products, and by promoting the use of certified products. Help by educating your fellow employees, your customers, heck, even your kids, about U.S. forest ownership, the challenges of private landowners and the value of paper products made from wood


Check out the Go Paper. Grow Trees. Campaign from International Paper.

When you buy paper, you help keep forests growing. It’s true. In the next 30 years the U.S. could lose 44 million acres of forest to development. When you use paper, you help keep trees growing.

Trees are planted in greater numbers than they are harvested. Since the 1940s, annual growth of new trees has always exceeded the number cut down. By 1992, tree growth outpaced harvest by 34 percent and the volume of wood in the forest was 360 percent more than in 1920.


 
The latest Down To Earth: A practical look at environmental issues and trends Why Is Tree Farming Important for America and America's Forests is now available? Check it out online here or ask for a printed copy of the brochure from CMP.

 paper is incredible.

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