Oxygen (O2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other Greenhouse gases (GHG) and Trees’ Plant Respiration

29th Oct 2020: There is a big confusion about trees producing Oxygen.  It is true that during daytime trees produce Oxygen by photosynthesis, however in the nights they breath in  the same amount of oxygen, which they produced during day. If they really would produce Oxygen the amount of oxygen in forest areas might be much higher compared to deserts, however it is around the world around 21 %!
 
Trees do have a very important function: They give shadow and evaporation cooling and filter a lot of dust from the air with their foliage. Therefore they are so important for cities. Trees - especially forests that are getting old - have an important role in the world's climate: They store CO2 in their wood. Therefore if burning this wood the stored CO2 is released into the air. However CO2 is just one gas that is responsible for the greenhouse effect besides methane and others, please read the following very interesting sentences in the mentioned article:
https://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases
 
“Greenhouse gases allow sunlight (shortwave radiation) to pass through the atmosphere freely, where it is then partially absorbed by the surface of the Earth.3 But some of this energy bounces back out towards space as heat. Of the heat emitted back to space, some is intercepted and absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is because these compounds are made of three or more atoms. This molecular structure allows them to absorb some of the escaping heat and then re-emit it towards the Earth which increases global temperatures.
 
The ability of these gases to trap heat is what causes the greenhouse effect. So the more greenhouse gases you have in the atmosphere, the more heat stays on Earth. This process, which is very similar to the way a greenhouse works, is why the gases that can produce this effect are collectively known as greenhouse gases.
 
There are 2 ways that a greenhouse gas (often abbreviated GHG) can enter our atmosphere. One of them is through human activities. The main human sources of GHG emissions are: fossil fuel use, deforestation, intensive livestock farming, use of synthetic fertilizers and industrial processes. The other is through natural processes like animal and plant respiration.
 
The principal forcing greenhouse gases are:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous oxide (N2O)
• Fluorinated gases
 
The main feedback greenhouse gas is:
• Water vapor”
 
Here also trees are named in the content of “plant respiration”. I’m very happy that now we can find such light giving articles!