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A forest is a dynamic place, not static, but forever changing. When a tree falls in the forest it may be an end to one tree, but it is a beginning to the life cycle of other forest denizens. The above image is a vignette of those processes. A large tree has fallen opening a clearing in the canopy, taking another down in the fall. An upright portion of the trunk still stands in the opening. Perched atop the stump is a crown of ferns and small tree seedlings. Along the forest floor lies the fallen sections of the trunk of the tree already overgrown by moss. On the forest floor itself with new-found light small white pine seedlings are growing to fill forest floor. The trunk and stump are starting to decay. Fungi of various kinds speed the process - some microscopic, others larger. These in turn are food for insects.
The fungi help break down the wood and bark to form a soil for other plants to grow. The wood soon becomes home to a myriad of mosses, lichens, fungi, and ferns. In a short time other plants and trees sprout on the fallen log and in the forest opening. Between the branches of the fallen tree sprouts birch, maple, hemlock, and pine trees. Eventually the log will decay away. The seedlings will compete among themselves until some saplings win the silent struggle. New trees will reach for the light above. Trees will fill the canopy void left by the lost tree. Elsewhere in the forest another tree will fall and begin the process anew. - Edward Frank
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