Keep Your Land Healthy—Plant Native Trees

You have probably heard several times that the health of our forests is declining, or that deforestation is detrimental to our ecosystems. Have you noticed that in our area our trees and forests do not seem that healthy? When you travel around and look at the vegetation in our surrounding area, you may have noticed that there are less trees decorating our landscapes. In place of tree silhouettes on the horizon, we often see open land with no trees or buildings in sight.

Trees and forests are incredibly important to the health of our planet. They provide homes for animals and can pull carbon out of the air. Trees also provide shade and can help prevent soil erosion. The declining state of our trees is alarming and we should all take note of their importance while striving to preserve their health.

Deforestation occurs when humans thin out or clear-cut a forest. Historically, humans would clear out forests to make open space for planting crops, raising cattle, or building homes, cities, and roads. With our population increasing, the need for space is becoming more evident in our area and throughout the world. Urban sprawl has pushed us to expand into our once densely forested areas. One such area is the Lansdowne community, close to Leesburg, VA.

Mr. Philip Partain has been a local resident of Lansdowne for 17 years. When he moved into the community, he noticed that the woodland areas in his backyard and throughout the neighborhood were very lush, full of healthy vegetation, and filled with forest wildlife. That same year, Hurricane Isabel came through and knocked over several of the trees in the forest. This enabled new growth to occur, and the new vegetation was thriving and brought a sense of healing and growth to the forest after the hurricane. This continued for several years, but around seven years ago, he noticed that the forest was not looking as healthy as it once had. He also noticed that his neighbor’s trees and vegetation were declining. This decline of the forest and the health of his trees was very alarming to him, and should be to all of us. New tree growth is no longer happening and large healthy trees are dying at a large rate.

Jim Donegan, from Donegan’s Tree Service, created a Tree Inventory at Mr. Partain’s property. A tree inventory provides a way to track and locate large quantities of trees throughout a property. Jim is an ISA Certified Arborist and has been working with Mr. Partain for several years to bring back the health of the trees on his land. Taking inventory of all the trees allows Jim to not only map their location and identify the types of trees on the property in order to monitor their growth, but also to generate a service plan to maintain and help the trees thrive.

Jim believes that environmental stresses are causing the health of our forests and trees to decline. That, along with deforestation, is putting a damper on the local health of our trees. We need our space, but we need our forests, too. It’s important to help change the landscape by planting native Virginian trees, such as Virginia Pine, Red Oak, White Oak, and Poplar. Learn more about Virginia-native trees.

—written by Anna Thayer