[MeganM (OP)]

Marc has asked:

Trees are big - why don't they leave an enormous hole in the ground when they grow? They have to be consuming something to grow so large!

What do you think?

[chiralSPO]

Most of what they are consuming comes from the air! (not counting water)

Trees only get trace minerals from the soil, and most of the mass of a tree comes from water and carbon dioxide.

[Bored chemist]

The hole a tree would leave is roughly big enough to bury that ash (not charcoal) that would be left if you burned it.
The volume of the roots will generally be bigger than that.

[Monox D. I-Fly]

Isn't the volume of the supposed "hole" already filled in by the roots?