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doing about 80% of the work, with therestdue mainly tooceanic oraquaticexchange. Many cities, and most deforested areas suchas Greece, no longer produce the oxygen they use. The basic effects of trees on water vapour andwindstreamsare: R - Compression of streamlines, and induced turbulence in air flows. - Condensation phenomena, especially at night. Moisturewil! notcondenseunlessitfindsa surface to condense on. Leaves providethis surface, as well as contact cooling. Leaf sur- faces are likely to becooler thanother objects at evening due to the evaporation from leaf stomata by day. Asair is also rising overtrees, some vertical lift cooling occurs, the two combining to condense moisture onthe forest. Asingletree such asa giant Til (Ootea > . foetens) may present 40 acres of laminate leaf * “ Soe surface totheseaair, andtherecanbe40orso | tationontheupland slopes ofislandsorsea | whichisthe analogy given to water by tribal such trees per surface acre; treesenormously | coasts,andeventually producesthedenserain- | peoples. Trees were the hair of theearth magnify theavailable condensation surface. forestsof Tasmania, Chile, Hawaii, Washing- | which caughtthe mists and made therivers Who has not stood under agreattree | ton-Oregonand Scandinavia. Itproducedthe | flow. Such metaphors are clear allegorical which rains softly and continuously at night redwood forests of California andthegiant | guidesto sensible conduct, and caused the onaclear and cloudlessevening? Somegar- | laurel forests of the pre-conquest Canary is- | Hawalians(whohadthemselvesbroughtabout dens, created intheseconditions,quietlycatch | lands(nowanaridareadueto almostcomplete | earlier environmental catastrophes)to Tabu their cwn water while neighbours suffer | deforestation by the Spanish). forest cutting or even to make tracks on high drought. slopes, and to place mountain treesina sacred The effectsofcondensationoftreescanbe | RE-LIUMIDIFIYING AIRSTREAMS | °F Protected category. quickly destroyed. Felling ofthe forests causes In summary, we do not need to accept rivers to dry out and drought to grip theland. Rainfall as having everything to do with total All this can occur within the lifetime of a Forests arecloud-makers both from water local precipitation, especially ifwelive within person. evaporated from the leaves by dayandwater | 30-100 miles of coasts (asmuch of the world Windstreams flow acrossa forest. The | transpired as partoflife processes.Alarge | does), and wedonotneedto acceptthattotal streamlines are partiallydeflected overthe | evergreentreesuch as Eucalyptus Globulus | precipitation cannot bechanged. Let’sbeclear forest (almost 60% ofthe air) and partly ab- | maypumpout800-1000gallonsofwatera | abouthowtreesaffect total precipitation. The sorbed into the trees (about 40% of theair). | day, whichis how Mussolini pumpedoutthe | casetakeniswhere winds blow inland froman Within 1,000 metrestheairenteringtheforest, | Pontine Marshes of italy. With sixtyofthese | oceanorlargelake: with it stonnages of water anddust,isbrought | trees tothe hectare thousands ofgallonsof | 1) The waterintheairis evaporated from the toa standstill, The forest has swallowedthese | waterarereturnedtotheairtobecomeclouds. | surfaceoftheseaor lake. Itcontainsa few salt greatenergies, andthe resultisan almostim- Aforestcanreturn(unlikethesea)75%of | particlesbutis clean .Asmall proportion perceptible warmingofthealrwithinthefor- | it swatertoair, eenoughamountsto | may fall asrain(15-20%), butmost of this est, ageneralincreased humidity inthetrees | formnewrainclouds . (Bayard Webster, | waterisCONDENSED outofclear nightair or {averaging 15-18% higher than the ambient Forests Rolein Weather ;documentedin | fogsbythecool surfacesofleaves (80-85%). air) andairin whichno dustis detectable. Amazon,New York Times ScienceSection 5/7/ | Ofthis condensate, 15% evaporates by day Under the forest canopy, negativeions 83). Forested areasreturntentimesasmuch | and 50% istranspired. The rest enters the produced by the life processes causedust | moistureasbareground, andtwiceasmuchas | groundwater. Thus, trees areresponsible for particles (++)toclumporadheretoeachother | grasslands. more water in streams than the rainfall alone anda fafloutofdispersed dustresults. Thisisacrucial finding thataddseven | provides. Ifdryhotairentersthe forest, itisshaded, | moredatatotherelationshipbetweendeserti- | 2) Oftherainthat falls, 25% again re-evapo- cooledand humidified. |Ifcoldhumidaicenters | ficationand deforestation. tates from crown leaves and 50% is transpired. the forest, itis warmed, de-humidified and Of the 75% of water returned bytreesto | Thismoistureis addedtoclouds, whichare slowly released viathecrownofthetrees.We | air,25%isevaporated fromleafsurfacesand | nowatleastS0% treewater . These clouds may see this warm humid air asmisty spirals | 50%transpired. Theremaining 25%ofrainfall | travel oninlandtorainagain. Treesmay double ascending from the forest. Thetreesmodify | infiltratesthe soil andeventuallyreachesthe | ormultiply rainfall itselfby this process, which extremesofheatand humiditytoalife-enhanc- | streams,orevaporatestoair.Overtheforests, | canberepeatedmany timesoverextensive for- ingand tolerable level. twiceas much rain fallsthanisavailablefrom | ested plains or foothills. Thewinds deflected over the forestcause | theincomingair, so thatthe forest isconstantly Ifwecan only understand what atree does compression inthestream|iningofthewind,an | recyclingwatertoalrandrain, producing50% | forus, howbeneficial itisto lifeon earth, we effect extending to twenty times the tree | ofit sownrain, (Webster, Ibid). Thesefindings | will(asmanytribeshave done) revereall trees height, sothata 12-metre(40 foot) highlineof | foreverputanendtothefallacythattreesand | assistersand brothers. trees compresses the airto240 metres(600 | weatherareunrelated. lhopeto show thatthe little wedo know feet) above, créating more water vapour per Design strategies are obviousandurgent- | has this ultimate meaning: without trees, we unit volume and cooling the ascending air saveall forest thatremainsand planttreesfor | cannot inhabitthe Earth. Without trees we stream. Bothconditionsareconducivetorain. | increasedcondensationonthehillsthatface | rapidly create deserts and drought, andthe These saturated airstreamscondensein | thesea. evidence for this is before our eyes. Without trees to create a copious soft condensation Allthesefactorsareclearenoughforany | trees, the atmosphere will alter it scomposi- which, insuchconditions,may farexceedthe | persontounderstand.Todoubttheconnection | tion, and lifesupportsystems will fail. precipitation caused byrainfall.Condensation | between forestsand the water cycleistodoubt Reprinted from NimbinNews]uly 1988 dripcanbeas high as80-85% of total precipi- | thatmilk flows fromthe breast of the mother, NEXUS New Times Six - Spring 1988 doing about suy% ol tne work, witn inerestaue mainly tooceanic oraquaticexchange. Many cities, and most deforested areas suchas Greece, no longer produce the oxygen they use. The basic effects of trees on water vapour andwindstreamsare: R - Compression of streamlines, and induced turbulence in air flows. - Condensation phenomena, especially at night. Moisturewil! notcondenseunlessitfindsa surface to condense on. Leaves providethis surface, as well as contact cooling. Leaf sur- faces are likely to becooler thanother objects at evening due to the evaporation from leaf stomata by day. Asair is also rising overtrees, some vertical lift cooling occurs, the two combining to condense moisture onthe forest. Asingletree such as agiant Til (Ootea : — foetens) may present 40 acres of laminate leaf * “ oe eve surface totheseaair, andtherecanbe40orso | tationontheupland slopes ofislandsorsea | whichisthe analogy given to water by tribal such trees per surface acre; treesenormously | coasts,andeventually producesthedenserain- | peoples. Trees were the hair of theearth magnify theavailable condensation surface. forestsof Tasmania, Chile, Hawaii, Washing- | which caughtthe mists and made therivers Who has not stood under agreattree | ton-Oregonand Scandinavia. Itproducedthe | flow. Such metaphors are clear allegorical which rains softly and continuously at night redwood forests of California andthegiant | guidesto sensible conduct, and caused the onaclear and cloudlessevening? Somegar- | laurel forests of the pre-conquest Canary is- | Hawalians(whohadthemselvesbroughtabout dens, created intheseconditions,quietlycatch | lands(nowanaridareadueto almostcomplete | earlier environmental catastrophes)to Tabu their cwn water while neighbours suffer | deforestation by the Spanish). forest cutting or even to make tracks on high drought. slopes, and to place mountain treesina sacred The effectsofcondensationoftreescanbe | RE-LIUMIDIFIYING AIRSTREAMS | °F Protected category. quickly destroyed. Felling ofthe forests causes In summary, we do not need to accept rivers to dry out and drought to grip theland. Rainfall as having everything to do with total All this can occur within the lifetime of a Forests arecloud-makers both from water local precipitation, especially ifwelive within person. evaporated from the leaves by dayandwater | 30-100 miles of coasts (asmuch of the world Windstreams flow acrossa forest. The | transpired as partoflife processes.Alarge | does), and wedonotneedto acceptthattotal streamlines are partiallydeflected overthe | evergreentreesuch as Eucalyptus Globulus | precipitation cannot bechanged. Let’sbeclear forest (almost 60% ofthe air) and partly ab- | maypumpout800-1000gallonsofwatera | abouthowtreesaffect total precipitation. The sorbed into the trees (about 40% of theair). | day, whichis how Mussolini pumpedoutthe | casetakeniswhere winds blow inland froman Within 1,000 metrestheairenteringtheforest, | Pontine Marshes of italy. With sixtyofthese | oceanorlargelake: with it stonnages of water anddust,isbrought | trees tothe hectare thousands ofgallonsof | 1) The waterintheairis evaporated from the toa standstill, The forest has swallowedthese | waterarereturnedtotheairtobecomeclouds. | surfaceoftheseaor lake. Itcontainsa few salt greatenergies, andthe resultisan almostim- Aforestcanreturn(unlikethesea)75%of | particlesbutis clean .Asmall proportion perceptible warmingofthealrwithinthefor- | it swatertoair, eenoughamountsto | may fall asrain(15-20%), butmost of this est, ageneralincreased humidity inthetrees | formnewrainclouds . (Bayard Webster, | waterisCONDENSED outofclear nightair or {averaging 15-18% higher than the ambient Forests Rolein Weather ;documentedin | fogsbythecool surfacesofleaves (80-85%). air) andairin whichno dustis detectable. Amazon,New York Times ScienceSection 5/7/ | Ofthis condensate, 15% evaporates by day Under the forest canopy, negativeions 83). Forested areasreturntentimesasmuch | and 50% istranspired. The rest enters the produced by the life processes causedust | moistureasbareground, andtwiceasmuchas | groundwater. Thus, trees areresponsible for particles (++)toclumporadheretoeachother | grasslands. more water in streams than the rainfall alone anda fafloutofdispersed dustresults. This isa crucial finding thataddseven | provides. Ifdryhotairentersthe forest, itisshaded, | moredatatotherelationshipbetweendeserti- | 2) Oftherainthat falls, 25% again re-evapo- cooledandhumidified.Ifcoldhumidaicenters | ficationand deforestation. rates from crown leaves and 50% istranspired. the forest, itis warmed, de-humidified and Of the 75% of water returned bytreesto | Thismoistureis addedtoclouds, whichare slowly released viathecrownofthetrees.We | air,25%isevaporated fromleafsurfacesand | nowatleastS0% treewater . These clouds may see this warm humid air asmisty spirals | 50%transpired. Theremaining 25%ofrainfall | travel oninlandtorainagain. Treesmay double ascending from the forest. Thetreesmodify | infiltratesthe soil andeventuallyreachesthe | ormultiply rainfall itselfby this process, which extremesofheatand humiditytoalife-enhanc- | streams,orevaporatestoair.Overtheforests, | canberepeatedmany timesoverextensive for- ing and tolerable level. twiceas much rain fallsthanisavailablefrom | ested plains or foothills. Thewinds deflected over the forestcause | theincomingair, so thatthe forest isconstantly Ifwecan only understand what atree does compression inthestream|iningofthewind,an | recyclingwatertoalrandrain, producing50% | forus, howbeneficial itisto lifeon earth, we effect extending to twenty times the tree | ofit sownrain, (Webster, Ibid). Thesefindings | will(asmanytribeshave done) revereall trees height, sothata 12-metre(40 foot) highlineof | foreverputanendtothefallacythattreesand | assistersand brothers. trees compresses the airto240 metres(600 | weatherareunrelated. lhopeto show thatthe little wedo know feet) above, créating more water vapour per Design strategies are obviousandurgent- | has this ultimate meaning: without trees, we unitvolumeand cooling theascendingair | saveall forestthatremainsand planttreesfor | cannot inhabitthe Earth. Withouttrees we stream. Bothconditionsareconducivetorain. | increasedcondensationonthehillsthatface | rapidly create deserts and drought, andthe These saturated airstreamscondensein | thesea. evidence for this is before our eyes. Without trees to create a copious soft condensation Allthesefactorsareclearenoughforany | trees, the atmosphere will alter it scomposi- which, insuchconditions,may farexceedthe | persontounderstand.Todoubttheconnection | tion, and lifesupportsystems will fail. precipitation caused byrainfall.Condensation | between forestsand the water cycleistodoubt Reprinted from NimbinNews]uly 1988 dripcanbeas high as80-85% of total precipi- | thatmilk flows fromthe breast of the mother, - a NEXUS New Times Six - Spring 1988 35