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Another obvious change will be all the fallen trees throughout our forest. These fallen dead trees will slowly decompose, recycling valuable nutrients back into the soil. This slow decomposition feeds a diversity of insects, fungi, and microorganisms. Hurricane Helene also created a lot of brush piles from our cleanup. Brush piles are a very important habitat element for many different kinds of wildlife. They provide cover from predators and places for nests, escape routes, and dens.
Not only do gaps add much to the diversity of our forest tree species, but also increase the diversity of our wildlife species. Larger forest gaps also create habitat edges that benefit mammals like deer, rabbits, raccoons and foxes. This edge effect is especially great for bird diversity.
The next time you see our forest after the Hurricane Helene damage, observe these changes to our forest ecosystem. Some species will even benefit from all of our downed trees. During our Afternoon Explorations on Thursdays and Fridays, find out more about our forest in our Habitats of Roper Mountain display.
By Tim Taylor, Roper Mountain Natural Science Specialist
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