Deadwood is the life of the forest! This may sound like a contradiction, but it’s true.  Much of the nutrients and energy cycling through a forest start with decaying wood. Unlike marine ecosystems where microscopic plants called plankton are the life of the ocean - grazed on by just about everything else, from fish to whales - forest ecosystems work in the other direction. Just about everything depends on death and decay. Deadwood provides homes and food to countless forest species, from bugs to birds to bears. Once a tree dies (and even before it dies), insects and small animals start calling it home. Woodpeckers come to feed on the insects. The Pileated Woodpecker creates holes in the tree, which may be used as many as 30 other species. Eagles and osprey nest in the tops of tall dead trees. Marten need standing and blown over dead trees when they’re hunting for prey. When a tree falls, young trees sometimes start growing on it -- thus such logs are called "nurse logs."  As the tree decomposes (composts), it soaks up water like a sponge, and releases this water when the weather is dry. The tree also releases nutrients and builds up the soil as it decays.

Ecological Function   /   Pest Control   /   Flying Foresters    /   Dead Wood