All trees have their own purposes. Some are valued for the production of lumber, while others are used as beautiful shade trees because of their form and habit of growth. Other trees are used for urban uses. These same trees afford shelter, food, and protection to both bird and animal life, whether planted around homes or growing in fields and forests. They protect soils from erosion, conserve moisture, protect water quality, and modify both soil and air temperature extremes during the summer and winter months. Trees reduce energy use by filtering winds, blocking summer sun, and allowing the passage of winter sunlight. Recently, there has been evidence showing the presence of vegetation, especially trees in urban areas, encourages positive interactions among people and is associated with lower crime rates.
Several of our native forest trees serve dual purposes. They are valued for both their timber and their aesthetic qualities. The green ash and red oak are fine examples of trees suitable for timber as well as for shade and street planting.
The trees most important for lumber usage are white oak, black walnut, tulip tree, red oak, white ash, sugar maple, basswood, American elm, slippery elm, wild black cherry, bur oak, and swamp white oak.
The native Ohio trees best adapted for shade and ornamental purposes include sugar maple, red oak, bur oak, pin oak, black tupelo, sweet gum, flowering dogwood, red maple, redbud, honeylocust, white pine, and Washington hawthorn.
A list of exotic trees (not native to Ohio) that have been planted extensively for shade and ornamental purposes includes: Norway maple, London planetree, little-leaf linden, Austrian pine, Scotch pine, and Colorado blue spruce.
Norway spruce, Austrian pine, red pine, white pine, and Eastern arborvitae are used extensively for windbreak plantings. Conifers assist with reforestation. Both the white pine and the Austrian pine have been planted around farmsteads.