Are you like me? Each holiday season I ponder the whole fake tree, real tree conundrum? Which one is better for the environment? I recently read a story written by Gretel Schueller, in Audubon magazine. It shed some light on this subject for me so I though it would be worth paraphrasing some of the article for you.

The first Christmas tree lot opened on the streets of New York in 1851 when Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds loaded with trees from the Catskill Mountains to town. Today about a half a million acres of land are used by 22,000 Christmas tree growers, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These tree farmers produce over 32 million trees each holiday season.

So the question remains, is cutting down a tree for temporary use in your home during the holidays good or bad for the environment? Lets first look at some facts about artificial trees which apparently they are now called “permanent trees”.

About 9.3 million artificial trees are made and sold each year. About 80 percent of these are made in China. The cost to the environment in terms of how much petroleum is used to manufacture these trees, packaging the trees in cardboard boxes and transporting the trees half way around the world is extremely high. Consider this, the life span of the average artificial tree in the U.S. is only 6 years but the lifespan of this same tree in a landfill is an eternity.

Before 1950, most fresh Christmas trees where cut from the wild. Obviously cutting from the wild would be a problem if it continued today but now 98 percent of all fresh trees are grown on tree farms. Proponent’s pint out that farm trees offer many environmental benefits. They provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide and other pollutants from the air while the tree is growing. They help stabilize soils, help reduce flooding and provide nesting habitat for many species of birds.

And because Christmas trees are often grown on land retired from other uses, generally fallow fields and cow pastures, they’re not supplanting older forests. Also when trees are planted next to natural woodland, a stand of Christmas trees creates an “edge effect” that increases wildlife diversity. Birds such as Goldfinch and Cedar Waxwings and small mammals such as rabbits and mice find these habitats very beneficial. Bird counts have actually increased on farms that start to grow Christmas trees.

But there is a darker side to the fresh Christmas tree story. Not all Christmas trees are perfectly green as they appear. In order to produce the ideally shaped and colored tree, farmers often use large amounts of chemicals. Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides are used when growing Christmas trees. These chemicals are highly toxic to birds, fish and mammals, often counter-acting the benefits of growing the trees. In addition many farmers will spray the tree with a green dye to make the tree look greener and hold the needles longer.

When we buy a Christmas tree we don’t think about the liberal amounts of chemicals that were applied to the tree and are now sitting in our living rooms. Off gassing of the chemicals is a real concern not to mention the effects this will have on our pets who sometimes chew the fallen needles.

Fortunately I think there are a few things we can do as a consumer. If you are purchasing a fresh tree this season ask some questions of the grower. Inquire about the growing practices. Encourage your local grower to use fewer chemicals. Most importantly don’t expect and demand a perfectly shaped and colored tree.

My family has chosen a fresh tree for our holiday tree. In the next Nature Smart column I think we will take a look at what benefits a fresh tree can be after the holiday lights have been turned off and the presents have been unwrapped. Until next time…