Just three well-placed trees around a home can lower air conditioning bills by up to 50 percent, and windbreak trees can reduce winter heating bills by up to 30 percent. See the tree planting guide for more information on how and where to plant energy saving trees around your home. Tree root systems hold soil in place, preventing erosion. Trees also absorb stormwater that might otherwise result in flash flooding. A city's urban forest can reduce peak storm runoff by 10 to 20 percent, according to the USDA Forest Service.
Trees help cleanse the environment.
During photosynthesis, trees absorb, or sequester , carbon dioxide and convert it into oxygen for us to breathe. One acre of trees provides enough oxygen for 18 people, and absorbs as much carbon dioxide as a car produces in 26,000 miles. Trees also remove sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, two major components of acid rain and ozone pollution, from the air. Trees are natural buffers to harsh weather conditions. Well forested lands are consistently at least 2 to 4 degrees cooler during the summer and 1 to 2 degrees warmer during the winter than deforested land.