The survival of trees is not just an environmental issue, it is linked to the preservation of the human species. This is more of an indirect relationship than a true causal link, but work by Geoffrey Donovan of the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station confirms the importance of advocating for trees. His argument is detailed in theAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine.
To understand the impact the death of millions of trees can have on human health, the researcher has chosen to limit himself to two causes of human mortality, namely cardiovascular and respiratory diseases “because they are influenced by the quality of the ‘air and stress,” he explains on the site of the American radio PBS.
Fewer trees, the guarantee of poorer health?
The biologist realized that thousands of trees, decimated by the ravages of the emerald ash borer. This Asian beetle has had devastating effects on American and Canadian forests since its appearance in both countries in 2002. In the United States, 100 million trees have fallen due to this insect.
The relationship between this insect and the demonstration of the biologist? In the 15 states affected by the beetle, 15,000 additional deaths linked to a heart disease were counted relative to the average for EAB-free areas. About the respiratory diseases, the difference in deaths is glaring between wooded areas ravaged by the beetle and the others: 6,000 more deaths for regions where tree mortality is high.
For the biologist this cannot result from a simple coincidence. His findings underline the urgent need to fight against this insect which destroys nature, and by domino effect, harms human health.