A dead tree in the forest is a controversial topic, especially when it comes to commercial forests. In our understanding a living tree is one with a green lush crown and a healthy full trunk. Lush green pleases our eyes with which we look out for fauna happily frolicking in thick, healthy branches.
That is why you may be surprised and worried by the fallen old rotten trees, of which you can find I abundance in the primeval forest. They look dead and in a sense they are, but in many ways they are equal to their green brothers and sisters.
Tree death often begins when the tree is still standing and due to damage or old age, decay processes are progressing. Such a dead standing tree serves as a habitat for saprotrophic fungi, provides food for rare insects, is an ideal space for mosses and lichens and many others are just waiting for the individual to finally fall. Then it is inhabited by countless organisms: bacteria, fungi, invertebrates and other animals, and there are up to three times more of them than on a living tree. In the Białowieża Forest, which is a forest in equilibrium, old trunks decompose slowly, even up to 100 years and all dead wood can constitute 27-30% of the entire above-ground biomass! Thanks to this, the forest can regenerate naturally.
Decaying trunks have another very important function: they retain water, acting like a sponge, making primeval forests a place with a much lower fire risk than commercial forests. You can read about this below (click-click):
The death of a large tree in a forest means huge changes in the ecosystem, in the supply of light, nutrients and organic matter and as we know without change there is no development.
The Białowieża Forest loves its dead- living trees. They are the main reason it is a primeval wilderness.
Source: podlaskie24.pl: Zagrożenie pożarowe w Puszczy Białowieskiej mapa zagrożenia pożarowego Puszczy Białowieskiej klasy palności drzewostanów wg oddziałów stan 2017r.
The death of a large tree in a forest means huge changes in the ecosystem, in the supply of light, nutrients and organic matter and as we know without change there is no development.
The Białowieża Forest loves its dead- living trees. They are the main reason it is a primeval wilderness.
