The trees play a vital role in the carbon cycle, and have done so for millennia. Recently, humans have thrown things off a bit by getting rid of lots of trees and digging up a lot more carbon.

Trees communicate. They migrate. They protect. They heal. We climbed into the NPR archives to find some of our favorite arboreal fiction, nonfiction, and kids' lit — get ready to branch out.

Trees are needed to provide shade and absorb runoff. "So that development going in — if it's lot edge to lot edge — we're going to see an amplification of urban heat," Shandas says.

Most trees can recover from cicada damage on their own, but there are steps you can do to help revive your trees and shrubs. Removing damaged branches may help a tree's overall health.