Fallen trees in streams can have surprising benefits

Raccoons by Holly Kuchera

Most of us don’t give much thought to a fallen tree in a stream, but on a closer look, nature often has delightful secrets to reveal.   Thanks to a short blog titled, When a tree falls in a stream there’s always something to make use of it, by Anne Jefferson Ph.D, we get a deeper look at the industry of organisms that lay in wait for just such an event.  But Jefferson doesn’t stop where the tree falls. She takes us down stream with various stop-overs along the way to acquaint us with other aspects of stream dynamics and the complex role played by a world of miniature creatures we never see.

American Marten by Steve Brigman

We use this opportunity to mention additional benefits to wildlife when trees fall into or across streams.  The logs may serve as platforms from which birds and mammals can fish.  A lucky hunter may even find a carcass trapped by woody debris. But fallen trees can also act as bridges or corridors through an animal’s territory or into a new one.

Keep in mind that a shady spot in your backyard is also a good location for a dead limb or two, and a pile of leafy debris.  Decomposers are eager to use it.  Before humans came along, nature was quite content without brooms.