What If All The Trees Died? | Unveiled - video Dailymotion

Unveiled

Watch What If All The Trees Died? | Unveiled - Unveiled on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00 Trees are the silent architects and constant custodians of Earth.

00:04 They've been a fundamental part of all the ecosystems on our planet for millions of years.

00:10 We don't always acknowledge or even notice them, but they're there.

00:13 And if they ever weren't there, then we'd be in a lot of trouble.

00:17 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the essential question; what if all the trees

00:22 died?

00:25 Do you need the big questions answered?

00:27 Are you constantly curious?

00:29 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?

00:32 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!

00:34 Let's start by leafing through the vast world of trees as we currently know them.

00:39 According to a massive, multi-authored study published in the journal PNAS in 2022, Earth

00:45 is home to approximately 73,000 different tree species, including around 9,000 that

00:51 are currently undiscovered.

00:53 These range from the towering redwoods to the diminutive bonsai, and while it's impossible

00:58 to put a precise number on it, estimates suggest that there are more than three trillion individual

01:03 trees in the world in total.

01:05 Every single one of them contributes to a green cover that blankets around 30% of the

01:10 Earth's total land area.

01:12 These are old souls as well.

01:14 Some trees have been witness to the passage of centuries, standing as ancient sentinels

01:19 on our planet for literally hundreds of years.

01:22 The Methuselah tree, a bristlecone pine in California, is more than 4,850 years old,

01:29 making it one of the oldest living organisms on Earth.

01:32 Meanwhile, there are ancient woodlands and forests dotted all across the world map, all

01:38 containing within them a unique record of history.

01:41 The tree kingdom has encountered a considerable number of problems, especially in the industrial

01:45 age of humankind.

01:47 But it does still exist, and is still vital.

01:51 Trees might reasonably be called the lungs of the Earth.

01:54 They play a crucial role in maintaining the balance of atmospheric gases in Earth's

01:58 atmosphere.

01:59 Via photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.

02:03 Again, if Earth were a body, then somewhere like the Amazon rainforest in particular would

02:09 be one of its most vital organs.

02:11 It can be said, then, that trees are our natural air purifiers, filtering out pollutants and

02:17 providing continuously fresh air for all living organisms.

02:20 But then again, that's not all they do.

02:23 Whenever trees clump together to form forests, woodlands, groves, and thickets, they become

02:27 thriving biodiversity hotspots, hosting a constantly updating mosaic of plant, animal,

02:34 and fungi species.

02:35 The so-called "web of life" really relies on trees for shelter, but also for food, energy,

02:41 and for essentially maintaining the natural order.

02:44 If the trees disappeared, all of the order that they provide would collapse.

02:49 Whenever trees are lost, even on a smaller scale, it knocks everything out of balance.

02:55 Delicate systems get thrown into disarray, and they often can't recover.

02:59 There is an almost instant ripple effect throughout the food chain, which ultimately leads to

03:03 the extinction of some, sometimes many, species.

03:06 The plants and animals that do survive are forced to either adapt or migrate.

03:11 If all the trees on Earth were to disappear, then we'd see this kind of environmental

03:15 devastation play out to the worst possible degree.

03:18 Without trees performing photosynthesis, the oxygen levels on Earth would plummet, leading

03:23 to a gradual suffocation of life.

03:26 Of course, humans would not be immune to this.

03:28 And although we might hope to combat the issue with tech-driven breathing solutions, there

03:32 is no doubt that in a world without trees, most of us would die.

03:36 Or in fact, never be born at all.

03:38 A tree's absorption of carbon dioxide has other key benefits as well, though, including

03:43 that it plays a major role in regulating the climate, ensuring that temperatures are not

03:47 only survivable, but usually tolerable and even pleasant.

03:51 Take the trees away, and you lose this crucial natural mechanism.

03:56 Greenhouse gas levels would soar as a result, triggering runaway climate change.

04:00 This also means that extreme weather events would become more and more common, all while

04:05 rising sea levels would continue unchallenged.

04:08 The trees stop taking carbon, the world heats up, the ice melts, the waters swell… and

04:13 all of that combined would pose a severe threat to human civilisation.

04:18 All while almost all other habitats quickly and inescapably degrade, too.

04:22 You might hope that Earth would rejuvenate.

04:25 In even the most dramatic apocalypse hypotheticals, there's usually an expectation that the

04:30 plants, at least, will one day rise again from the ashes.

04:33 Here, however, even that resurrection is in doubt… mostly because soil erosion would

04:37 be another big concern.

04:39 As they are, tree roots anchor soil, maintaining its structure.

04:43 But without trees, that structure fails, which is partly what soil erosion is.

04:48 This would then rapidly accelerate, leading to barren landscapes the world over, the increasing

04:53 loss of arable land, and an even greater likelihood of even more natural disasters, such as massive

05:00 landslides and far-reaching floods.

05:02 If anything on Earth did survive, then the planet that it would wake back up to would

05:07 be hugely changed.

05:08 But finally, is this scenario really feasible?

05:11 Certainly, the idea of all the trees suddenly dying is quite far-fetched.

05:16 Short of there emerging some kind of tree-hungry superbug, this isn't something that's

05:20 going to happen any time soon.

05:22 However, real-life threats to trees en masse definitely do exist.

05:27 Deforestation, climate change, wildfires and disease can all contribute to the decline

05:32 of tree populations.

05:33 It's therefore vital to proactively address these issues to prevent irreversible damage,

05:40 and to stop us from turning this seemingly far-off hypothetical into something that could

05:44 actually unfold.

05:45 So, how do we avoid the apocalypse of trees?

05:49 While the natural world says that everything lives and everything dies, in general we could

05:54 be doing our best to not speed that process along.

05:57 This means sustainable practices, such as implementing forestry plans which ensure that

06:02 the harvesting of trees is done in a way that allows for long-term regeneration and minimises

06:08 the short-term environmental impact.

06:10 There are massive economic incentives here, too, as trees and forests contribute significantly

06:16 to economies worldwide through timber, non-timber forest products and ecotourism.

06:21 If we were to cut trees down to the point of them disappearing, then we'd lose all

06:25 of that - although the aforementioned loss of oxygen would still be the greater problem.

06:31 Other ways in which the tree-pocalypse could be dodged include reforestation efforts - planting

06:35 trees in deforested areas, but doing so in such a way that we are sensitive to precisely

06:41 what's needed.

06:42 As the growing business of rewilding has begun to highlight, simply replacing once-ancient

06:47 tree groups with monoculture forests of pine, for example, isn't always the best strategy

06:52 for success.

06:53 Meanwhile, conservation is a further area in which everyone can get involved if they

06:57 want to - because if we protect the trees that do remain, then the biodiversity that

07:02 they support can continue to live.

07:05 Thankfully, in the modern world the importance of trees is at least known, even if that knowledge

07:10 is often ignored.

07:11 Today, there are widespread campaigns for tree preservation, with environmentalists,

07:16 scientists and concerned citizens all rallying to curb deforestation, and for a turnaround

07:22 in tree fortunes.

07:23 It could be argued that these kinds of behaviours are humanity returning to its roots, in a

07:28 literal and figurative sense.

07:30 In cultures and traditions all over the world, trees hold an often-sacred place.

07:35 They've served as meeting points in history.

07:37 They've inspired artists and scientists alike.

07:40 They're often imbued with mystical powers in mythology and folklore.

07:44 Perhaps the most famous depiction of trees in modern literature is found with the Ents

07:49 in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings… and for Tolkien, too, the trees serve as guardians,

07:56 as well as connecting points between nature and sentient beings.

07:59 The message here is clear - the fate of trees is intertwined with the fate of all life on

08:05 Earth.

08:06 The famous "Last March of the Ents" was a rescue mission and then some.

08:10 So what's your verdict on this alternate reality?

08:13 But also, on how we should view trees in the here and now?

08:17 Are you involved in tree conservation?

08:19 Or have you just started trying to grow some trees or plants of your own?

08:23 Let us know in the comments.

08:25 Unfortunately, for all the positive improvements that humankind has made in recent years, decades,

08:30 and centuries, the total loss of trees is more than a mere and fleeting hypothetical.

08:35 It's a stark reminder of the importance and fragility of our planet's environment.

08:41 Trees are the often unsung heroes, holding everything together… so much so that when

08:46 they are there, it's perhaps easy to take them for granted… to walk or drive past

08:51 without even registering them.

08:53 But, if they ever weren't there, then we'd critically miss them… because that's what

08:57 would happen if all the trees died.

09:00 What do you think?

09:01 Is there anything we missed?

09:02 Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you

09:06 subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

What If All The Trees Died? | Unveiled

Category

Transcript

Recommended