A single oak tree logging 100,000 gallons of water surprised me

I stumbled on a forestry study that said a mature oak moves about 100,000 gallons of water a year, more than I ever guessed for something that just sits there. Does that number line up with what other folks have read about transpiration rates, or am I looking at a bad source?

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mia_anderson19d ago

Tbh that number caught me off guard too when I first saw it, but it lines up with what I’ve read about how much water big trees can pull up through their roots and push out through their leaves. It’s wild to think about a tree basically acting like a giant pump all year long, especially during hot summer months when it’s working overtime. I’d double check the study’s method though, because some estimates count rainfall interception and soil evaporation separately, which can inflate the total. Either way, it makes you respect how much heavy lifting a single plant can do, and it kinda hits different when you walk past an old oak knowing it’s moving that much water. Your source probably isn’t far off, honestly.