Tree Canopy

Everyone knows about Tree-benefits from its different parts. Lets us talk about upper branchy part of tree. Technically it is termed as ‘Crown’ as it is top part of plant. Clubbed tree-crowns form a cumulative canopy which enhances its benefits. Different characteristics of crown like shape, size, color, density are species-specific and have direct benefits as well as indirect benefits not only for humans but also for animals, birds, insects, etc for both food and habitation/nesting.

        Canopy-print on land-surface convey information about forest cover or forest area, recorded by FSI after every two years. The tree canopy has health benefits as it obstructs direct sunlight or reduces the insolation of IR and UV radiations which has damaging effects on human skin. You will notice little run-off or erosion of top-sheet soil in the areas having abundant tree canopies. Another, important benefit of tree canopy in violent-windy plain areas is to divert the wind direction & lower down the wind strength. So we can say, canopies act as green windbreaker as well.

Trees with heavy dense canopy preferably planted for shade purpose. Among them, I could recall is Pongamia pinnata (an evergreen dark heavily foliage tree), locally called Sukh-chain (Peace & Felicity). I realized the significance of its common name and function during one of my forestry practicals when I got under its canopy on a scorching sunny day. There I felt shade effect which was tremendously different and relaxing.

Pongamia pinnata

People who have grown shade trees around their house have experienced less Air Conditioner (AC) expenses, which is obvious. How economically beneficial tree canopy is?; can be understood by seeing vendors and sellers; they usually sit and fix their stalls under the tree-shade in urban streets. These canopies act as business exchange sites. Vendors expand their business with the expansion of the crown/canopy. In the urban concrete areas, if luckily any cluster of tree canopy got to establish, the area will have different pleasant micro-climate. There will be clean air; biodiversity and filtered noise from highways. People also used to grow heavy crown trees for dual purposes, especially for fruit and shade. Overfilled crown with vibrant flowers chases everyone’s heart with its beauty. For example, Blue and Red flowers of Gulmohar trees planted at walkways unfurl their aesthetic beauty.

Talking about habitation, shade tree used by birds for roosting. They acquire permanent house over it. Reminiscing my childhood (about 15 years ago), there was a big Simbal tree (Bombax ceiba) the far side of my home where the vulture committee used to interact there every evening after a hunt or feed on the barren landfill with carcasses remnant. Committee sat together on big Simbal branches after every thanksgiving dinner. That tree was big enough to provide space for a dozen vultures. The remaining friends lived on the big tree near that barren area. At dusk grunt screams of giant Gyps scared me. But with time those scavengers start disappearing because that tree got cut by the field owner. That was a single big tree on that farm boundary. From that time, I never saw a single vulture in my village. Maybe, they had been rehabilitated for a new home.

Later, there was news about declining vultures due to biomagnifications of NSAID diclofenac-[https://frontline.thehindu.com/environment/conservation/researchers-find-that-vultures-in-india-are-still-in-danger-from-the-nsaid-diclofenac/article33280321.ece] and for this reason, India banned the veterinary use of this drug in 2006. Another frequent usage of agrochemicals in low fertile agro-ecosystem is a probable reason for decreasing the biodiversity in form of evolving new diseases or epidemics [http://www.fnbnews.com/Top-News/health-hazards-in-the-wake-of-a-mysterious-disease-in-eluru-andhra-pradesh-61841]

Another important reason is a subsequent scarcity of tree canopy due to deforestation which we ignore unknowingly. Canopy serves as habitat not only to our indigenous avian species but our migratory guests also feel tree canopies as home and comfortable there.

  Recent Scenario...

         When I got married and came to Nagrota, I visited the most awaited site - Pong Lake (Bird-Sanctuary). It is a Ramser wetland famous breeding site declared under the Ramser convention for migratory birds in the year 2002. I noticed their regular flight towards the lake every morning (twilight) and back flight (in groups) at dusk in the opposite direction of the lake. I asked about this to my husband, why don’t guest birds just live near the lake? They cross the Nagrota area twice a day and move toward the hilly site.

            Being brought up and more familiar to this area, he explained gently, ‘they went back to have rest on tree canopies at night. Those hilly areas with tree canopies; away from human habitation; provide them shelter against predators as well as protection against natural ecological factors’.

But unfortunately, this Wetland site is cordon-off temporally as we heard the news of the spread of Avian-flu H5N1 (caused by Influenza Virus with high mortality rate). At the end of the last year 2020, infected migratory birds reached the breeding sites all over the Indian sub-continent. And they have shown symptoms and signs, just in the consecutive month of New Year, 2021. 

Check this video for detail -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPiqja323Tw

This is really sad for our biodiversity, as another virus outbreak amidst ongoing Corona Epidemic.

            I remember, last week of December 2020; when I was in my home town Nagrota for three days. I heard the gushing voice of birds, at every three midnights. It was really unusual to me as I didn’t notice this voice last year winter. I discussed with my partner in the morning that it was like bar-headed geese fighting each other at the Pong site.

            I didn’t realize or see this bird flu is coming or already with the incubation period. We came back to our work-place in Punjab; then heard the news of Pong Lake along with news of bird-flu around the other states (India) and countries. We felt sad. And I am sure that pain wrecking sound was bird’s suffering (breath-shortness), they were somewhere near the lake during those nights and fighting with pain and aches. I guess they literally didn’t have strength in their wings to return to their home canopy.

Number of birds died and we ‘Humans’ are responsible for their fate directly or indirectly.

Pong Lake Kangra (H.P.)