Native plants are hugely beneficial to an area’s ecosystem, providing food, shelter, and a myriad of other services. We all know the oak tree in our backyard is a plus. But eventually that oak will die… and then what? The impulse is, of course, to cut it down. A dead tree has fulfilled its ecological purpose and can now be removed. But maybe we shouldn’t be so hasty. I implore you to look at dead plant life in a new way.

A healthy forest is in a constant cycle of death and rebirth. New life cannot grow without old life giving way. It’s a tale as old as time. Known as “snag”, dead, dying and decaying trees and branches are as natural as fish in water. Storms often take down branches and whole trees, and we should be careful to jump to conclusions and tie these acts to the overall health of the tree in question, or the forest at large. Just because a tree loses a limb does not mean it’s unhealthy and thus unworthy of continuing to live! I should clarify, however, that trees affected by blight and other diseases are in a different category here -- they should be dealt with properly and, if necessary, extracted. If left unattended, diseased trees can lead to catastrophic outcomes. But normal, everyday decay and death in trees is not only ok, it’s hugely beneficial to the local environment.

If you ask yourself, “Who could benefit from a dead tree?”, the first thing that might come to mind is a woodpecker. They’re the obvious answer, and a correct one. They not only nest in tree cavities, but a huge majority of their diet is made up of insects found in dead and decaying wood. The common rat-a-tat of a woodpecker foraging for food in a hollow branch or trunk is a refreshing sign of a healthy forest. It’s a song as old as rhyme, as it were. A multitude of other bird species make their nests in decaying trees, or in the pockets left by a fallen branch, including most songbirds and nearly all raptors (owls, hawks, and eagles). Richard Hutto, an ecology professor at the University of Montana, has suggested that nearly 45% of all North American native bird species rely entirely on snag sites for a portion of their life (Wuerthner, 2018). In addition, mammals like squirrels, raccoons, bats, and possums nest in decaying wood, and the number of insects (especially ants) that rely on these sites is too numerous to count.

If still-standing trees have positive impacts on the ecosystem, what about the fallen branches, leftover stumps, and rotting trunks on the ground? You may have already guessed that they play important roles as well. Fallen logs are typically teeming with insect life, which in turn feeds larger animals up the food chain. They are also home to essential decomposer creatures, like fungi and bacteria, which help break down the rotting wood that then feeds crucial nutrients into the soil. Many species of bees will nest in fallen wood, and small vertebrates such as salamanders and snakes will burrow underneath to hibernate during the winter months. Skunks and bears are known to rely heavily on insect-meals found in logs, especially as winter draws near. Even tree debris in ponds and streams can be beneficial! A fallen tree in a brook can change the force of flowing water, creating small pockets and safe havens for fish and amphibians to lay eggs. Jonathan Rhodes, a professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Queensland, states, “The more wood, the more fish, all things being equal. Lots of wood is a big part of the productivity for streams.” It seems nearly everything benefits from fallen trees!

So, what can you do? For starters, unless it’s diseased or in danger of falling on your home (or your neighbor’s home, for that matter, let’s not forget to be good neighbors!), leave the dead tree right where it is. If you must cut it down for safety reasons, consider depositing chunks of it into the forest behind your backyard, or posing a few sections of the trunk as accent pieces in a flower garden. But as with most things when it comes to the natural environment, the best thing to do is just sit back and let nature take its course. By some estimates, the removal of dead material from forests can mean the loss of habitat for up to one-fifth of the animals in the ecosystem (National Wildlife Federation). So please, just let it be! The salamander foraging for beetles under the log, the woodpecker excavating a snag site for a nest, the hawk scoping out the surrounding area for its next meal -- they’re all grateful for the dead, and you should be too!