Ocean phytoplankton and algae produce 70-80% of the earths atmospheric oxygen. Why is tree conservation for oxygen so popular over ocean conservation then?
In: Biology
It’s not about oxygen, it’s about carbon sequestration.
Ocean fertilization for carbon storage is an area of current study.
Just bring on Skynet at this point. At least we will know how all other life feels about us.
I think also a consideration could be the impact of increasing the mass of algae. More trees in an area seem unlikely to have a negative impact on things; certainly they compete with each other for nutrients/sunlight/water but they don’t hurt the animals around them. We’ve seen how blooms of algae can produce a situation where there are not enough animal algae consumers to manage the load, the algae and bacterial populations climb, O2 is depleted as a consequence of the bacterial degradation of the algae and now you’ve got a dead zone where no life succeeds. We do this “accidentally” all the time.
Its a system somthing about trees in amazon make kind of an air river than carries tons of rain across the world and that rain brings minerals a shit ton of minerals to the ocean than diamatons(somthing like that) live on. Trees put tons and tons of moisture in the air
It’s actually more about the carbon capture capabilities of trees and the habitats they create for various organisms. And they help with oxygen
Makes a strong political statement! Not about the facts as it is with politics. But trees are nicer to look at and smell better than what is essentially pond scum.
I think it’s a bit simpler than others are explaining. I think it’s because most people don’t know that fact. I certainly didn’t before you asked this question! And it’s very difficult to effectively propagate public awareness of facts like that without a massive cultural push from many sources, the likes of which deforestation has had over the last few decades.
Simply put, trees are… Well, trees. Trees are cool, you can climb them, sit under their shade, some grow food, all kinds of good stuff.
Algae and phytoplankton? They’re floating ocean goop. Not exactly charismatic stuff.
It’s called rain forest and not oxygen forest , they play a very important role in our water cycle
Trees get hype and we know oxygen is hugely important, but the significance of oxygen production by trees is overestimated and the significance of trees for everything else is underestimated, by laymen, mostly.
Trees produce oxygen and absorb carbon. These are great things. But they also: provide habitats for other animals and organisms; stabilize the soil by digging a web of roots that act as a skeletal support for raw earth; retain moisture from the environment, helping the ecosystem maintain a balance of moisture between the rains; shed their leaves annually, helping enrich the soil around them; protect against wind; provide shade; and while we don’t understand all of the scientific reasons why yet, trees are scientifically proven to improve the happiness and health of people the observe and live around them (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/07/09/scientists-have-discovered-that-living-near-trees-is-good-for-your-health/?noredirect=on).
Trees really are amazing for life on land. The ocean is teeming with life, but land is harder for life, because soil dries up and it takes a lot more energy to maintain our own temperatures, moisture levels, and to even move around on land as opposed to drifting in the water.
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