I often have students ask what good something is. This is an interesting question and usually revolves around what good something is to people. “What is its function?” is a better question.
Last week someone asked me about the dead Longleaf Pines (Pinus palustris) above the fishing dock at Little Crystal Lake. “Why haven’t you removed these dead trees?” I was asked. These trees were killed during our controlled burn about five years ago. For some unknown reason the fire grew hotter in this area and killed mature trees, while not killing them elsewhere.
As you look at this picture you may get a sense of the purpose even dead things have in the functioning of an ecosystem. Clearly the woodpeckers are feasting on insects which are feasting on the deadwood. Invisible to us the fungi are also breaking down this dead tree. The tree all the while is providing homes and food and, as it decomposes, enriching the soil.
Sometimes we need to look carefully.
Clyde
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