While consumers have a choice between selecting a real Christmas tree or an artificial one, the Texas A&M Forest Service is shedding light on the benefits of the real tree.

An average of 20-25 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. every year, or roughly one tree for every five households, according to Marsha Gray of the Christmas Tree Promotion Board. Nationally, the real Christmas tree industry also employs around 100,000 people.

“Christmas trees are grown in all 50 states,” said Gray. “But the top producing regions are centered around Oregon, North Carolina and Michigan.”

Trees from those areas are the ones you’re likely to find at retail lots, garden centers and your standard home improvement store. Nevertheless, many Americans prefer going to local Christmas tree farms, picking out their favorite tree, then carrying it back to their homes. And thanks to the hardiness of Christmas trees, Americans are able to do that almost everywhere throughout the U.S.

While it might seem counterintuitive that cutting down a live tree would be beneficial, sustainably managed forests have immense environmental benefits.

Christmas trees are grown for an average of eight to 10 years before they are cut down, and more than 350 million trees are currently growing on Christmas tree farms throughout the U.S, with only a fraction of that number being harvested each year.

Beyond converting carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen, Christmas trees filter water, reduce runoff and potential flooding, and provide homes, food and protection for wildlife. They cool the average temperatures around them by almost 10 degrees, reduce erosion and pollution, as well as wood used to build homes and businesses.

Additionally, there are personal benefits of having a real Christmas tree in the home. From improving mental health, productivity and happiness to boosting your immune system and lowering anxiety, research has proven time and again that living plants and trees are invaluable.

And real trees are entirely biodegradable. Thousands of organizations will take the tree to convert it into mulch or composted soil when it is time to dispose of them.

Some consumers are drawn to artificial trees for the very fact that they aren’t real trees. Allergies to pine pollen and tree mold deter many potential buyers, along with the convenience of an artificial tree, including its price and lack of reusability.

Artificial Christmas trees are almost entirely imported – 85% of them are made in China, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. They are made of metals and plastics—typically PVC, which, “can be a potential source of hazardous lead”—and are almost impossible to recycle, according to the National Christmas Tree Association.