The Dead Give Life In The Woods

With Halloween this month we venture into the woods in search of the dead...

- Frieda Rummenhohl

A sense of calm and the mesmerising play of sunlight dancing through the leaves, not to mention the colours of a changing season in the canopy; a wander in the woods gives us many rewards. However, we might pass a pile of logs without so much as a glance. After all, it’s just some dead wood lying around. Or is it? What happens when a tree’s life cycle comes to an end?

Contrary to popular belief, there’s not much dead about deadwood. Long after their demise, dead trees give life to a myriad of living things. In fact, from the humblest hoverfly to the lordly owl, around 40 per cent of woodland wildlife is at least partially dependent on deadwood habitats. In the UK, around 2,000 invertebrate species are saproxylic – reliant on dead or decaying wood for either part or all of their life cycle. If you have ever done a minibeast hunt in the woods, you will know the amount of creepy-crawlies that quickly scatter in all directions when you lift a log.