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How do we grow more Trees in the Mid-West?

I postulate that if our American Farmer in the mid-west were willing to allocate only 2% of his farmland to growing trees, then the world would be a better place. If we can use engineered stands of trees to disturb laminar flow across the Earth's surface, tornados cannot sustain some of their intensity over distance. The turbulance caused by the trees - especially at high speed wind conditions, extinguishes harmonic resonnance within the atmosphere (sounds far out & wild, but two decades ago we didn't know elephants talk over many miles at low frequencies either) so the opportunity to build structures like tornados & microbursts within the atmosphere are diminished.

There is assured reduction of wind velocity on the ground near the trees, and a very positive impact on both wind & water erosion, increased aviary population, and overall need of America to grow more trees for harvesting.

So, to get this done, gummint will have to offer incentives and provide penalties for farmers to grow trees where they can instead grow soybeans - we will have to have scientific evidence to make it happen.

Has anyone done wind tunnel/computer studies showing how properly configured tree stands can impact airflow across the prairie? So show me the studies!!!

Update:

Tamara: Right on! And the feature I am seeking would apply all of those attributes by using native species to populate the region devastaed by exactly the mentality that MIke laments - crop yield is to be everything so destroy all the trees that take up farmland and shade our crops. Mike: the Mid-West doesn't have any trees because the first thing settlers erased them to built with or to burn. I am not talking about a few trees dotted, but stands of tree - "fence-rows" is what they are called. They line up to separate fields and as a technical 'wall' against the surface wind, offer significant documented potential to do as I suggest. Agreed the push-back from industrial farmers will be there, but once the science shows effecacy, this could happen. I'm looking to see if science has yet looked this process to see what kinds of structures work in this model over large areas, and how many trees it will take to make it worth our while. To modify the MidWest this wa

Update 2:

To modify the MidWest this way will change workd climate for the better and could be applied elsewhere - even in the Sahara

4 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 5
    8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    A few trees scattered around wont stop tornados, especially when your talking about the area that experiences the most tornados in the world. Also 2% more trees means 2% less product which translates into higher prices which again means a higher cost at the grocery store and a higher cost for ethanol (a main ingredient in gasoline).

    Not to mention the mid-west naturally doesn't have many trees because its a large prairie, forcing some trees into the mix wont change the climate that doesn't naturally allow for them.

    Well most of those Uses in landscapes don't apply to corn/soybean/rapeseed/etc.. fields which is what were talking about. I mean tress do great things for the environment of course, but farmers and consumers are not going to take financial losses to provide shade for a cornfield, muffle the noise of a corn field, nor to screen unwanted views of a corn field. Your going to need better reasons then that, look at how long geologists had to wave evidence around showing the planet was being killed by pollution before people started to take action.

    Source(s): P.E.
  • Tamara
    Lv 4
    8 years ago

    Native Trees of the Midwest for the Home Landscape

    A native plant is considered to be a species that existed in an area prior to the arrival of European settlers, as opposed to a naturalized plant, which has been introduced into a new habitat by human influence. Native trees are part of the rich and complex relationships among plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms in natural ecosystems (woodlands, prairies, wetlands, etc.) of the Midwest. The diversity of native trees provides interesting textures, colors, shapes, flowers, and foliage. Planting native species is a way to re-establish natural diversity and restore our regional landscapes, and they help to sustain habitats for many of our native birds and insects.

    Uses in the Landscape

    Provide food and shelter for wildlife

    Promote plant diversity

    Provide shade

    Create privacy or a sense of enclosure

    Define boundaries

    Screen unwanted views

    Muffle noise

    Provide a focal point in the landscape

  • ?
    Lv 6
    8 years ago

    There's a international day call tree day .If each person plant one tree at a year US will add 300,000,000 trees to the tree population and the world 6 billiard trees .

  • Anonymous
    8 years ago

    Fast-growing trees are often used in the Midwest to fill in landscaping projects such as in new home construction. Fast-growing trees can be weak, often suffering damage from high winds or snow from Midwest winters, resulting in extra maintenance costs, according to the University of Illinois Extension. For continuous shade coverage, plant slow-growing trees and remove the fast-growing varieties as the slow-growing species mature.

    Green Ash

    The green ash is the widest ranging of all the ashes. In landscaping projects, the tree is used as a windbreak and in land reclamation projects. A hardy tree, the green ash prefers moist soil and is often found growing in the wild in flood plains and swamps. The green ash ranges in height from 50 to 100 feet and grows at a maximum rate of 24 inches a year. The tree reaches its maximum height in 20 years for smaller green ash trees and 50 years for larger trees. The trunk is straight but will widen at the base when growing in water, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The bark is brownish gray with diamond-shaped grooves. The bright green leaves are shaped like elongated ovals. The purple flowers bloom in the early spring. The fruit appears in the early autumn.

    Pin Oak

    Due to it bright red autumn leaves and straight, narrow shape, the pin oak is planted widely in parks and as a street tree in cities. In the wild, the tree prefers the moist soils of swamps, streams and river bottoms, according to "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Trees of North America" by Tony Russell, Catherine Cutler and Martin Walters. The tree ranges in height from 50 to 90 feet. The pin oak grows at a rate on average of 25 inches per year, reaching a maximum height in 24 years for 50-foot trees and 43 years for taller pin oaks. The dark gray bark is grooved and pitted. The dark green leaves have, on average, four pairs of lobes, each tapering to a point. Clumps of tan hair grow in the leaf's vein axis. The green-yellow colored male flowers are catkins that grow up to 2 inches long. The tree gets its name from the pin-like growths on the shoots.

    Box Elder

    The box elder, also called the ash-leaved maple, ranges in height from 30 to 70 feet and grows at a rate of 18 inches per year. It takes 20 years for smaller box elder trees to reach full height, and 46 years for taller box elder specimens. In nature, the tree grows wild in wetlands across the United States. It has the largest range of all maple trees, according to "Field Guide to Trees of North America" by the National Geographic Association. The box elder is short-lived, to about 60 years of age, and is damaged easily. The bark ranges in color from brown to gray and is smooth. The light green leaves have three to five leaflets that turn yellow and red in autumn. The male and female flowers grow in small clusters on separate trees.

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