We’ve all heard of photosynthesis, the process by which green plants, trees, and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water, producing oxygen as an extremely important byproduct.
But are all trees the same when it comes to oxygen production, or are there outliers that produce more of the good stuff?
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Which Trees Produce The Most Oxygen?
Oxygen release is proportional to the overall leaf mass, also known technically as Leaf Area Index. By that measurement, the trees that produce the most oxygen are Maple, Beech, and True Firs, Spruce, and Douglas Fir. Maple is a genus of trees named Acer. Beech or Fagus, on the other hand, is a genus of deciduous trees native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. True Firs, or just Firs or Abies, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae which member is the Spruce tree too.
1. Maple
Maple is a genus of trees and shrubs scientifically named Acer.
There are approximately 128 species, most of which are native to Asia, but they can also be found in Europe, northern Africa, and North America. Maples have two distinct features – palmate leaves and winged fruits.
The type species of the genus is the sycamore maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, the most common maple species in Europe.
The maple is a common symbol of strength and endurance is on the coat of arms of Canada and the Canadian flag.
2. Beech
Beech or Fagus is native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. There are 10 to 13 species currently recognized, and the European beech (Fagus sylvatica) is the most commonly cultivated one. Beech grows on a wide range of soil types, acidic or basic, provided they are not waterlogged.
The leaves of beech trees are entire or sparsely toothed, from 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long and 4–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.
3. True Firs
Firs or Abies is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae. Firs or Abies are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in the mountains over most of the range. The name is derived from the Latin ‘to rise’ as a reference to their height.
There are 48–56 species of Firs.
Their leaves are significantly flattened, sometimes even looking like they are pressed. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the unique attachment of their needle-like leaves to the twig by a base that resembles a small suction cup.
4. Spruce
There are about 35 species of these coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 m (about 60–200 ft) tall when mature, with whorled branches and conical form.
They are distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needles (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures on the branches, and by their cones which hang downwards after they are pollinated.
5. Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
Douglas firs are medium-size to extremely large evergreen trees, being 20–100 meters (70–330 ft) tall.
Douglas firs are not true firs and are native to western North America and are known as Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine.
The common name honors David Douglas, a Scottish botanist and collector who first reported the extraordinary nature and potential of the species. The common name is misleading since it is not a true fir, i.e., not a member of the genus Abies. For this reason, the name is often written as Douglas-fir.
Do Trees Produce Oxygen At Night?
Obviously, plants and trees need sunlight to perform photosynthesis, but is that true?
Do trees produce oxygen at night? No, trees do not produce oxygen at night. They need light to perform photosynthesis and make oxygen. That’s a shame because round-the-clock oxygen production by all the trees in the world would really be awesome. But that’s not how chemistry and biology work.
Why Don’t Trees Produce Oxygen At Night?
I already mentioned the process of photosynthesis. For this process to happen, you need carbon dioxide, water, and light. Oxygen is a product or byproduct of photosynthesis. Because it’s dark, oxygen is not produced by trees at night.
Trees and plants, in general, can use not only sunlight but also artificial light to produce oxygen as well. It wouldn’t make any sense to shine man-made lights at forests for them to make oxygen for us for more reasons than one but also because there isn’t a shortage of it.
Is There Enough Oxygen On The Planet?
Don’t worry; there’s plenty of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere. In fact, there’s so much oxygen for it to last for millions of years, and it has hovered around 21% of the volume of the atmosphere for millions of years.
Forests produce lots of oxygen, but forest microbes also consume a lot of oxygen. As a result, the net production of oxygen by forests and all land plants is very close to zero.
That is amazing because I always thought that plants and forests were the main producers of oxygen on the planet. I mean, this doesn’t change the fact that plants are extremely important to Earth and its inhabitants.
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RELATED QUESTIONS
Aloe vera releases plenty of oxygen at night and day. This plant purifies the air by removing toxins such as benzene and helps people sleep better at night. Aloe vera is often called a super plant because it is a medicinal plant used for multiple treatments.
Most of the trees can’t take in carbon dioxide gas from the air or produce any oxygen without leaves. Trees make oxygen when they take in carbon dioxide from the air, use sunlight as energy to turn that carbon dioxide into sugars, and then use those sugars as their