Trees cycle oxygen and carbon dioxide. They also interact with their surroundings, changing temperature and humidity in the areas immediately next to them. Trees help keep water in the soil near their roots, and help keep the soil fertile ("fertile" means good for growing plants). The bacteria that rely on tree roots are an important part of the ecosystem; these bacteria help break down plants and animals that have died, releasing useful things back into the ecosystem for other life forms. Without trees, our surroundings would become hot, dry, and barren (opposite of "fertile"), and life as we know it today might not exist.

Trees are so important to many aspects of our lives. They are a key part of the carbon cycle, which produces the oxygen that we need to breathe as well as creates the food that living creatures eat. Additionally trees help to get rid of carbon dioxide from the air, which would kill us if it weren’t for the trees.

Hi Dakota, I'm sure you have heard of the word "photosynthesis." Photosynthesis is the process trees and other plants use to collect carbon and grow. Photosynthesis starts with the intake of carbon dioxide (CO₂) which is the gas humans breath out. The end product of photosynthesis is oxygen, the gas humans need to breath in to survive. Without trees and plants humans would not have enough oxygen to breath. Humans produce far more CO₂ than the trees and plants can take in so it is important to plant more trees!

We need plants to survive both because they produce oxygen and because they get energy from the sun that we then acquire when we eat the plants (or eat animals that in turn eat plants). Trees are plants, and produce a large amount of the oxygen in the air for us to breathe.