...if you didn't plant it already. As one Chinese proverb says:
The best time to plant trees was 20 years ago, the second-best time is today.
Seasons and geographies may influence. In Ireland for example, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority recommends tree planting between November and March. Trees are dormant during this period and can be safely planted as bare-rooted trees. Planting outside of this seasonal window might be possible if using different variety of trees or techniques. Monty Don, a writer, broadcaster and gardening guru, gives a lot of advice and information on how and when to plant trees successfully, but the main recommendation is always to plant small, young trees as early as possible, i.e. 'now', whether you are enriching public spaces, your own garden or perhaps a large re-forestation area. Trees grow slowly, best start today. Why grow trees for better water supply?
The European Forest Institute describes forests' role in the water cycle. Summarising here:
The European Climate Adaptation Platform Climate-ADAPT describes water-sensitive forest management in more detail. We read in its Adaptation Option report:
It is increasingly recognized that both the availability and the quality of water are strongly influenced by forests and that water resources in many regions are under growing threat from overuse, misuse and pollution. The relationship between forests and water is therefore a critical issue that must be accorded high priority.
We keep reading in the report that proper forest management can increase water yield, regulate water flow, and reduce drought stress for a forest. How?
Forests manage the amount of available water by:
Most of us are always close to at least a few trees. Where I look out on oak trees others may see palm trees. But did you know that as there are different types of rainforests? Chances are there is a rainforest or part of one relatively close to where you live.
NASA's Earth Observatory names two types of rainforests; tropical and temperate.
Today, water management is without doubt aided by planting trees, managing natural rainforests and yes, we can be saving water using trees, but we also need to take care of water pollutants introduced by human activity. Trees can only buffer as much as existing forest volumes allow, and unfortunately at the moment we continue to shrink our established, mature natural water management resource. While we play catch up and endeavor to re-establish our rainforests over the following decades, and while the world continues to use more water than we used to and produce pollutants, year on year, we need to step in and assist our water cycle. Where we take from streams, rivers and lakes, we need to return this precious water, without pollutants, back to our natural watercourses.
Advanced technologies such as those below exist, which we can readily apply to help improve global water quality.