By Poulomi Chakravarty and Hart Hagan
“Take care of dead wood, and everything else will take care of itself.” --HH
Issues to be addressed:
Why are dead trees a good thing?
Who wants to remove dead trees from our forests?
What is the effect of removing dead trees?
For what creatures do dead trees provide habitat?
Is it “renewable” to remove carbon, energy and nutrients from the forest?
How does the removal of dead trees affect our climate?
How has the conservation of snag habitat generated positive effects in the U.S., Canada and India?
When you have a big wildfire, it kills trees. This is actually not a bad thing. It’s a good thing.
For the sake of definition, a “snag” is a dead tree. A snag forest is a collection of dead trees, killed by fire, drought or beetle infestation. This is not a catastrophe. It is a smorgasbord.
After a fire, wood boring beetles move in and lay their eggs in the dead wood. Then their larvae grow. Then woodpeckers move in and eat the beetle larvae.
Snag forests provide abundant food and an unobstructed view for hawks and owls to hunt their prey. Also, small mammals tend to be more numerous in a snag forest, providing food for raptors.
Renewable energy?
The timber industry wants to harvest dead trees for lumber and for “biomass energy.” Biomass energy is where you take trees and turn them into wood pellets, to burn as fuel. It burns dirtier than coal and produces more carbon dioxide than coal per unit of energy.
But in some circles biomass energy is thought to be “renewable,” especially when it is commercially profitable. But it’s only profitable because it’s heavily subsidized by you and me, the taxpayer.
But that’s another conversation.
It is unfortunate that some have the nerve to call this “renewable.”
Are dead trees “fuel” for fires?
And then there is the whole false notion that removing living and dead trees is a form of “fuel reduction” thus preventing severe wildfires. Actually, both living and dead trees tend to reduce the severity of wildfires, because they hold moisture. When you remove them, the forest dries out and becomes easier to burn.
I explore wildfire misinformation and other forest health issues in this article, published recently: How to Identify Timber Industry Propaganda, as Conveyed by Esteemed Media Outlets and Trusted Public Servants
And then I recorded this video, based on the article: How to Protect Our Forests from Timber Industry Propaganda
Forest food: Carbon, Energy & Nutrients
Here’s the thing: Both dead trees and living trees contain carbon, energy and nutrients. You don’t want to haul any of these out of the forest on any large scale.
When you haul carbon out of the forest, it goes into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. When you haul energy out of the forest, you are depriving the forest of energy it needs to grow. And when you haul nutrients (nitrogen, iron, zinc, calcium, etc.) out of the forest, you are depriving the forest of the nutrients it needs to thrive.
And when I say “forest,” I don’t just mean trees. I mean the whole forest community, including plants of all sizes, animals, fungi, bacteria, and so on. The whole forest community depends on carbon, energy and nutrients. This is food for the forest, and it’s farcical to think that you can help the forest thrive by depriving it of its food.
With that, let’s talk about …
Snag Habitats - Nature’s Living Infrastructure, by Poulomi Chakravarty, PhD
Snag habitats, standing dead or dying trees are often overlooked in conservation, yet they are keystones of biodiversity. Far from being ecological waste, snags serve as nesting, roosting, and feeding grounds for countless species. By providing cavities, shelter, and organic matter, they create microhabitats that regulate both local ecosystems and broader climate processes. When integrated with forest litter populations, fallen logs, leaves, fungi, and insect snags become part of a dense web of biodiversity that helps stabilize climate and ecosystem function.
Snags as Climate Regulators
Ecologically, snag habitats store carbon, cycle nutrients, and influence soil moisture. Decaying wood releases organic matter slowly, fostering microbial and fungal activity that enhances soil fertility. In micrometeorological terms, these habitats affect albedo and evapotranspiration: shaded soils beneath snags retain more water and maintain cooler microclimates. This moderation of extremes is crucial in an era of heatwaves and irregular precipitation.
Six Species that Sustain Climate and Ecosystem Health
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus, North America)
A classic snag-dependent species, pileated woodpeckers excavate cavities in dead trees, which later host owls, bats, and squirrels. By controlling populations of wood-boring insects, they prevent pest outbreaks that threaten forest health.Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis, Western U.S.)
Spotted owls rely on snag cavities for nesting. Their presence indicates intact old-growth ecosystems, where carbon storage is highest. Conservation of snag habitats for owls also preserves entire food webs.Beetle Larvae (various families worldwide)
Insect larvae that tunnel through snag wood accelerate decomposition, releasing nutrients that feed soil and undergrowth. Their role supports the carbon cycle and enhances plant regrowth, linking dead wood to living forest resilience.Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus, North America)
These nocturnal mammals nest in snag cavities and disperse fungal spores essential for tree root health (mycorrhizal fungi). By supporting forest regeneration, flying squirrels indirectly stabilize local climate and rainfall patterns.Fungi such as Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor, global)
Decomposer fungi colonize snags, breaking down lignin and cellulose. This process recycles carbon into soil pools and supports biodiversity in the litter layer, essential for long-term ecosystem productivity.Hornbill (Bucerotidae family, Asia and Africa)
Many hornbill species nest exclusively in large tree cavities. As seed dispersers, they maintain forest diversity and regeneration. Their dependence on snag habitats ties directly to climate regulation, since diverse forests cool landscapes and regulate rainfall.
Case Studies
In the Pacific Northwest, snag management in old-growth forests has been shown to increase woodpecker diversity, which cascades into healthier forests and greater resilience against wildfires.
In Central India, hornbill conservation linked to snag habitat protection has maintained seed dispersal networks vital for monsoon-dependent forests.
Studies in boreal Canada demonstrate that retaining snags after logging increases fungal and beetle diversity, leading to faster nutrient cycling and soil carbon sequestration.
Conclusion
Snag habitats and litter populations are not remnants of decay—they are living infrastructure. By supporting woodpeckers, owls, beetles, squirrels, fungi, and hornbills, snags maintain cycles of carbon, water, and energy that regulate climate. Protecting and restoring these habitats is a low-cost, high-impact strategy for ecological resilience. Biodiversity density thrives where dead wood is valued as much as living trees, reminding us that in ecosystems, nothing is wasted.
References
Bunnell, F. L., & Houde, I. (2010). Down wood and biodiversity—implications to forest practices. Environmental Reviews, 18(NA), 397–421. https://doi.org/10.1139/A10-019
Carey, A. B. (2003). Biocomplexity and restoration of biodiversity in temperate coniferous forest: inducing spatial heterogeneity with variable-density thinning. Forestry, 76(2), 127–136. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/76.2.127
Harmon, M. E., & Franklin, J. F. (1989). Tree seedlings on logs in Picea–Tsuga forests of Oregon and Washington. Ecology, 70(1), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.2307/1938411
Mikusiński, G., & Angelstam, P. (1998). Economic geography, forest distribution, and woodpecker diversity in central Europe. Conservation Biology, 12(1), 200–208. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1998.96310.x
Naniwadekar R, Mishra C, Datta A. Fruit resource tracking by hornbill species at multiple scales in a tropical forest in India. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 2015;31(6):477-490. : https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467415000449
Nappi, A., Drapeau, P., Giroux, J.-F., & Savard, J.-P. L. (2003). Snag use by foraging Black-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) in a recently burned eastern boreal forest. The Auk, 120(2), 505–511. https://doi.org/10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[0505:SUBFBW]2.0.CO;2
Stokland, J. N., Siitonen, J., & Jonsson, B. G. (2012). Biodiversity in dead wood. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139025843
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Below are my upcoming webinars. For a complete list, please see:
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Balancing Our Climate Quickly, Naturally and Affordably. Thursday, September 18 at 12:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Presented by Dr. Katie Ross
What if we can balance our climate quickly, naturally, affordably? (And benefit biodiversity, water flows, forest health, food nutrition, and human well-being at the same time?)
Come along to this session to learn about - and be awed by - how the living skin of our landscapes and oceans create our climate from the ground up. Spoiler alert: it’s through the profoundly fascinating intelligence of nature, and how water flows from soil to branch to leaf to cloud and back again, powered entirely by the sun and life. This session will also be interactive. You’ll have time to look at your own patch of Earth to develop questions and insights of what actions could have an immediate climate-restoring effect in your community.
RSVP to Sept 18 workshop: What if we can balance our climate quickly, naturally, affordably?
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Urban Pollinator Garden Update. Friday, September 19 @ 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Come see the latest pictures from my 2/8 of an acre in urban Louisville. You will see lush green plants, colorful blooms, insect visitors, rich soil and invisible water cycles. This is highly relevant to climate change, biodiversity and social justice.
RSVP: Urban Pollinator Garden Update. Friday, September 19 @ 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)
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Prevailing Wildfire Myths. Monday, September 22 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Our forests are falling victim to a suite of lies about what does and does not suppress wildfires. The mythology is that forest protection is bad because when we don’t actively manage our forests. We need to practice logging and thinning to remove the excess fuel. But the opposite is true. Protected forests do not burn hotter. They tend to cast shade and absorb rainfall, such that they fare better when wildfires do occur.
Join us for this revealing discussion of a comprehensive study of forest fires which reveals the folly of a Trump administration proposal to roll back the “roadless rule,” which has bipartisan support in Congress and in the chattering class.
RSVP: Prevailing Wildfire Myths. Monday, September 22 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time)
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Urban Pollinator Garden Update. Friday, September 26 @ 3:00 PM (Eastern Time)
Come see the latest pictures from my 2/8 of an acre in urban Louisville. You will see lush green plants, colorful blooms, insect visitors, rich soil and invisible water cycles. This is highly relevant to climate change, biodiversity and social justice.
RSVP: Urban Pollinator Garden Update. Friday, September 26 @ 3:00 PM (Eastern Time) - Google Forms
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Insect Decline: Problems & Solutions. Wednesday, September 24 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time)
How are insects doing these days? If they are in decline, how big of a problem is it? And what are the solutions?
“As human activities rapidly transform the planet, the global insect population is declining at an unprecedented rate of up to 2% per year. Amid deforestation, pesticide use, artificial light pollution and climate change, these critters are struggling — along with the crops, flowers and other animals that rely on them to survive.” (Reuters, 2022)
And don’t forget to check out the Wildlife & Climate course coming up in October.
So glad to see someone writing about this in detail! As a Forester, being pro-tree also means being pro-dead tree! Here in the UK, in our highly managed urban woodlands, we actually have to manually create deadwood. I tend to lean towards leaving wood from selective thinning on site as ‘habitat piles’ or even strapping bits of deadwood to resilient, large living trees as habitats for birds like Willow Tit. In an ideal world, I’d be ring-barking trees to create a little bit of standing deadwood, but following two serious incidents of trees falling on people recently, it’s out of the question for the moment. An even more ideal situation would be for deadwood to be created naturally through browsing and wildfires- in such cases people be grateful for your lovely deadwood!!!
Deadwood is so crucial for many species that cannot survive elsewhere. Some even need a particular species of dead tree. I think it is so often underestimated!