How Paulownia Wood Saves Our Planet

A few weeks ago, I went on a green shopping spree to find sustainable furniture and decor for my apartment. I was interested when I saw that many green-labeled furniture options were made from paulownia wood. Although I am an avid environmentalist and tree enthusiast, I had never heard of this beautiful and exotic form of lumber. I decided to take a look at this tree’s ecology to find out if, and how, it can actually enhance the health of our environment.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out how sustainable paulownia wood actually is. This dense hardwood is an affordable, ecologically friendly alternative to expensive, environmentally disastrous rainforest woods like ebony and mahogany. It looks as chic as the unsustainble woods found in old-growth forests, but it costs a fraction of the amount of its endangered counterparts.

Paulownia wood is not only a viable alternative to less sustainable woods; it actually helps to benefit the environment. These hardwoods thrive in poor, even toxic land, and they are now used to restore lands damaged by pollution, deforestation or climate change. The tree has been shown to extend its roots as much as forty feet into the ground, where it immediately gets to work removing pollutants like salt and pesticides. Its deep roots also help to regulate water tables to prevent desertification.

The leaves of the paulownia tree are massive and absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide– a major contributor to global warming– from the air. Like other trees, it also helps to replenish oxygen in the air, which we all need for survival. Additionally, its broad leaves tend to absorb and disperse particulate pollution, or smoke, that clouds the air near large industrial cities.

Much of paulownia’s ecological benefit derives from its incredible growth pattern. Unlike most trees, which can take decades or centuries to provide usable timber, paulownia yiers after it yields excellent timber within seven to twelve years after it germinates. Compare this to chestnut and mahogany trees, which may be well over one hundred years old before they provide enough wood to be valuable. Most amazingly, after a paulownia tree is cut, it immediately begins regrowing from the stump, becoming a mature tree again in as few as five years.

The tree’s ability to regenerate adds to its ecological benefits. Because the root system is already established, it holds soil in place to prevent erosion and topsoil runoff. Other woods– particularly exotics grown in tropical regions– die immediately after harvest, leaving the soil bare and, eventually, desertified.

Paulownia trees can grow readily throughout the world, where they are raised on large plantations to restore dying lands. People in economically depressed regions throughout Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Australia plant paulownia trees between rows of edible crops. While the other crops grow and thrive, the land owners are also able to add a sustainable lumber to their combination of lucrative yields. This prevents them from needing to cut old-growth forests to support their lives. This practice, known as inter-cropping, may really save the world.

Wood harvested from paulownia continues to save our suffering environment by providing a sustainable habitat to wild animals. Paulownia plantations rarely require fertilizer or pesticides in order to thrive, because paulownia trees do well even in nutrient-depleted soils and tend to resist damage from pests. Many invertebrates, birds and mammals can live in paulownia trees without causing any damage to the usable part of the lumber. As the animals populate the area, they help to stabilize damaged ecosystems.

The world still has a very long way to go before we can really see a strong, bright future for our rainforests and atmosphere. Nevertheless, industrial, ecological, and economic progressions like paulownia wood continue to offer glimmers of hope for our future. By purchasing products made from paulownia, you can help to give our planet a fighting chance.

The American Paulownia Association gives more information about this miraculous wood and its many benefits.