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  • From: Jennifer Nazak <jnazak@yahoo.com>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] How do trees make rain?
  • Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:38:59 -0700 (PDT)

Hi All,

Here in central Texas, some land-owners are being paid
$350 per acre to clear cedar trees from their land,
the reasons being that the trees "suck up water" and
"aren't native." Furthermore, I've heard that the
felled trees are being BURNED, rather than being used
to create berms or harvested as wood, mulch, sawdust
for compost-toilet cover matter, etc.

I believe that a permaculture perspective would be
useful here, and have been casting my memory back to
the various PC courses I've taken. We all know that
trees put moisture into the air via transpiration;
I've read that 60% of inland rainfall is believed to
be generated by trees.

What I'm trying to recall is, what are some of the
other ways in which trees can cause rain? I seem to
remember hearing, from Scott Pittman and other
esteemed permaculture sensei, that trees release some
substance that seeds the clouds, but can't find
mention of it in my written materials. And do grasses
and other plants release a similar substance?

Any insights on the value of trees in generating
rainfall would be helpful to us in approaching public
officials about this policy of clearing cedars from a
drought-ridden land.

cheers,

jenny

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