Don't Clean-Up the Woods
We often hear landowners mention the need to "clean-up their woods."
Generally, they are referring to fallen trees and large limbs that have fallen onto the forest floor. While we understand the aesthetic reasons for wanting to tidy up, removing this material from the woods is actually detrimental to forest health. As fallen trees decompose, they create a gradually changing diversity of internal and external micro-habitats. Decomposing wood creates food for many insects who, in turn, become a major food source for birds. As insects and fungi work their way into the dead wood, openings are created that provide shelter to small mammals and amphibians. And most important, decaying wood is crucial to nutrient cycling. As fallen trees decay, they return vital nutrients and minerals to the forest soil. If dead wood is removed from the forest, the nutrients contained within it is lost from the forest and the soil becomes depleted.
Our local forests are suffering from an overpopulation of deer, invasive pests such as emerald ash borer and woolly adelgid, and the impacts of climate change. We need to become better stewards of our woodlands to protect them against these threats. We can begin improving forest health by making this one small change in the management of our own backyards.
