Trees are very important for all the life on Earth. They help control the world’s weather and clean the air we breathe. They provide homes and food to many different animals. We need trees for life.
These rainforest trees give us oxygen.
Trees and plants remove carbon dioxide gas from the Earth’s atmosphere. They use it to make their food and release oxygen back into the air. Rainforests recycle huge amounts of air. Many rainforests are being cut down and may disappear. We must preserve them as they are so important for cleaning the air.
This fungus is growing on a tree.
When a tree dies a fungus may use it for food. Fungi feed and grow on the dead wood. They make the wood slowly rot away and help to recycle the wood’s nutrients back into the soil. The nutrients are then re-used by other plants.
Many insects feed on rotting wood.
Rotting wood provides food and shelter to many animals. Some beetle larvae burrow into the wood as they feed. Woodlice feed on the larvae. Woodpeckers feed on the woodlice and other wood-eating insects.
