FORESTRY FACTS

*A hardwood is not necessarily a harder material (denser), and a softwood is not necessarily a softer material (less dense). For example, balsa wood is one of the lightest, least dense woods in the world, yet it is considered a hardwood.

*The distinction between hardwood and softwood comes down to plant reproduction. All trees reproduce by producing seeds, but the seed structure varies. Hardwood trees are angiosperms, which are plants that produce seeds with some sort of covering. This covering might be a fruit, such as an apple, or a hard shell, like an acorn.

*Softwoods, on the other hand, are gymnosperms. These plants let their seeds fall to the ground as they are, without any covering. Pine trees, which grow seeds inside hard cones, fall into this category. In conifers like pines, the seeds release into the wind once they mature. This spreads the plant’s seeds over a wider area.

*There are roughly 60 distinct species of oak trees native to the United States. The oaks found in North America fall into one of two groups: white oaks and red oaks.

*We still have 70% of the forestland that existed in the U.S. in 1600.

*There are 737 million acres of forests in the United States.

*Scientists have discovered that when forests become old and overcrowded, trees begin to use more oxygen than they produce. Young, well-managed forests tend to be the most efficient at absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen.

*Trees regenerate naturally through seeding and root sprouting, or people actively replant them.

*Harvesting timber improves wildlife habitats by creating cover and food sources as new tree sprouts begin to grow.

*You can determine a tree’s age by cutting the trunk horizontally and counting the internal rings. As trees grow throughout the year, they produce different colors of wood: light wood in the early part of the year and dark wood in the later months. This seasonal growth cycle creates the visible rings.

*Trees produce breathable oxygen by absorbing and converting carbon dioxide. Trees do this so effectively that a single, average-sized tree can produce enough oxygen to support four people. The carbon a tree absorbs in one year roughly equals the emissions produced by driving an average car over 8,000 miles.

*Researchers at the UT Southwestern Medical Center are studying how a substance found in tree bark helps kill cancer cells in patients with lung and prostate cancer. The bark of the South American lapacho tree kills certain types of cancer cells because it contains a chemical called beta-lapachone. This chemical interacts with a tumor’s elevated levels of NQO1, causing the cancer cells to die. Researchers extract this chemical from the tree’s bark to produce a medicinal tablet.