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A sacred tree or holy tree is a tree which is considered to be sacred, or worthy of spiritual respect or reverence. Such trees appear throughout world history in various cultures including the ancient Hindu mythology, Greek, Celtic and Germanic mythologies. They also continue to hold profound meaning in contemporary culture in places like Japan (shinboku), Korea (dangsan namu), India (bodhi tree), and the Philippines, among others. Tree worship is core part of religions which include aspects of animism as core elements of their belief, which is the eco-friendly belief that trees, forests, rivers, mountains, etc have a life force ('anime' i.e. alive) and need to be conserved and used in a sustainable manner. An example of the continued importance of sacred trees in contemporary urban culture is the 700-year old camphor growing in the middle of Kayashima Station. Locals protested against moving the tree when the railway station had to be expanded, so the station was built around it. The sacred Banyan tree is the national tree of India, and the Bodhi Tree under which the Buddha is said to have meditated in Bodh Gaya, is also revered as sacred. Sacred trees are some times planted in the sacred groves, which can also have other type of trees too. Trees in mythology are the trees that appear in the folklore genre of myth. Zapis are the sacred tree in Serbian tradition. Many trees, groves and gardens are considered sacred inside Christianity. Most notably the Gethsemane, the location where Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot (agony in the Garden) according to the bible. The garden thereby became a common site. Saints associated with specific trees and locations also became pilgrimage sites in early Chirstanity. In the Dharmic (Indian-origin) religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, the ecology, such as trees, rivers, fauna, and mountains, is sacred and revered objects of worship. There are numerous sacred groves of India. In Hindu belief, the Kalpavriksha is a wish granting tree.

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Sacred grove

Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of Celtic, Estonian, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism; they also occur in locations such as India, Japan (sacred shrine forests), West Africa and Ethiopia (church forests).

Sacred space

A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, or holy place is a location which is deemed to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a blessing. One or more religions may consider sacred locations to be of special significance. Often, such locations either are or become the home of sanctuaries, shrines, places of worship, or locations conducive to meditation.

Sacred natural site

A sacred natural site is a natural feature or a large area of land or water having special spiritual significance to peoples and communities. Sacred natural sites consist of all types of natural features including mountains, hills, forests, groves, trees, rivers, lakes, lagoons, caves, islands and springs. They are often considered sacred spaces. Sacred natural sites are natural features in or areas of land or water having special spiritual significance to peoples and communities.

From roots to canopy: Unraveling the influence of species diversity on tree water relations under warmer and drier climates

Eugénie Isabelle Mas

The worsening of drought events with rising air temperature alters tree water relations causing severe hydraulic impairments and widespread forest mortality. Mixing tree species with contrasting hydraulic traits could reduce forest vulnerability to extreme ...

EPFL2024

Impacts of regional climatic fluctuations on radial growth of Siberian and Scots pine at Mukhrino mire (central-western Siberia)

Luca Bragazza, Guillaume Blanchet, Baptiste Calliari

Ring width (TRW) chronologies from Siberian (Pinus sibirica) and Scots (Pinus sylvestris) pine trees were sampled at Mukhrino - a large mire complex in central-western Siberia - to evaluate the impacts of hydroclimatic variability on tree growth over the l ...

Elsevier Science Bv2017

Soil aggregation and associated nutrient content along a distance-from-tree gradient in a low input cropping system. Comparing the effect for two tree species: Mangifera indica (mango, Anacardiaceae) vs. Faidherbia albida (faidherbia, Fabaceae)

Pauline Chrobot

Trees can play a major role in improving soil quality and thus have the potential to enhance sustainability of agroecosystems. Although this has been well established, knowledge on the effect of individual trees on aggregate stability and associated-nutrie ...

2017