During this year's intense heatwave, everyone became vocal about planting trees, and many started tree-planting programmes in the middle of the heat. How far that effort has paid off, time will tell. Generally, June, July and August are the right months for planting saplings: light, air, a favourable temperature and enough rain help the young plants grow well.

"Plant trees, save the environment" is one of the most widely used slogans in Bangladesh, and every year nature lovers plant saplings inspired by it and try to protect the balance of the environment. This year the heatwave was blamed on the destruction of forests and the felling of trees, so fresh emphasis has been placed on planting.

Environmentalists also believe rooftop gardens can bring down temperatures in cities. A rooftop garden can lower the indoor temperature by about 1.73 degrees Celsius compared with outside, and the difference between a roof with a garden and one without is about 7.86 degrees Celsius. Flowers, fruit and vegetables can easily be grown on unused roofs with some planning, meeting a family's needs while contributing to the economy.

So when should saplings be planted, and will planting at any time bring results? The real challenge is keeping a sapling alive after planting. The first step is to choose the right time. Saplings must also be protected from cattle, goats and other grazing animals, pesticide applied if they become diseased, and local forest or agriculture workers consulted when needed.

After planting, the necessary fertiliser must be applied. Saplings need enough light and air to grow properly; trees grow fast in natural light and air, and every kind of tree needs it. So plant or keep trees at home where they get light and air regularly.

The Agricultural Information Service says the monsoon is considered the best season for planting in Bangladesh, though with the right method saplings and grafts can be planted all year round. Saplings should not be planted immediately after the first rain, it says, because for the first few days after rain hot gases escape from the soil, which are very harmful to young plants and can even kill them.

The best time of day to plant any sapling is late afternoon. Trees should be chosen to suit the site and surroundings; for example, planting trees on which birds do not perch or nest is being discouraged.

Flowering trees can be planted in the open space in front of a house for beauty, while fruit trees also provide shelter and food for birds and other animals. Besides mango and jackfruit, trees such as koroi and sal also give shade and live long, bringing relief in the heat and supplying oxygen for many years.

The type of tree can vary by region: sal, for instance, is more common in the Madhupur and Bhawal areas. Rain tree, teak, akashmoni, acacia, sissoo, babla and eucalyptus need a lot of space. They draw far more nutrients from the soil, and much faster, than native trees, and other trees cannot survive alongside them. Care must be taken that biodiversity is not thrown off balance this way.

Every country needs forest on 25 per cent of its area. In parliament, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Saber Hossain Chowdhury said forest covers 15.58 per cent of the country's total area, so forest cover must be increased. Environment fairs, tree fairs, social forestry, homestead forestry and tree-planting programmes, fruit, timber and medicinal tree-planting drives and fruit tree fairs can be organised to that end.

So let us plant more saplings this monsoon, come forward to protect the balance of the environment and resist excessive heat. If enough saplings are planted this year, we may be freed from heatwaves in future, with a cooler, greener environment.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.