How do oak trees affect the way you live?

Contributions to environmental health and beauty are the ways in which oak trees [Quercus spp] affect human lives. Specifically, they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. So they're friendly to environmental and human health. They shade the ground with their dense foliage. So they offer relief from extreme weather. At the same time, they moderate soil temperatures and protect soil moisture levels.

Oaks also provide year round interest for humans and fall food sources for nature. Their leaves are among the last to drop in winter. Their trunks and branches give attractive frameworks to gardens once the colorful designs of their leaves are gone. Their tannins are used in tannng, ripening fruit, and aging wine. Their distinctively colored and shaped foliage is among the last of the tree leaves to drop. Their acorns represent food sources for humans and nature.

Additionally, oak trees handle extreme environments. They put up a fight against such intimidating predators as the Gypsy moth caterpillar [Lymantria dispar]. Indeed, they often find it within themselves to leaf out twice in a year when the regular foliage is devoured by fearsome foes. So their commitment to environmental health and beauty remains strong to the very end.

In fact, the absence of oak trees from environments in which they previously grew immediately becomes noticeable. For example, any nearby streams tend to see rises in water acidity and sedimentation levels. The oaks are no longer there to hold the soil in place or to keep the more acidic soil pH levels in tow.