rotting logs
Forest floor mulch
Rotting logs are fallen trees or large branches in various stages of decay.
In ecology, they're recognized as vital habitat—nurse logs support new growth, and the decomposing wood shelters insects, fungi, and small animals.
We found salamanders under the rotting logs.
The phrase often evokes forest floors and the slow work of decomposition.
- decayGradual organic breakdown
- wood rotFungal decomposition of lumber
- fungiSpore-reproducing decomposers
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- mossSpore-bearing ground cover
decomposition · bark · beetles · termites · damp · forest · mulch · wood chips · woodlice · earthy · crumbling · moist · damp earth · nurse log · lichen · humus · soft · spongy
- forest featurespine trees, redwoods, old-growth forest, oak trees, sequoias
- forest floorfallen leaves, leaf litter, dead leaves, dead wood, pine needles
- forest debrisdead leaves, twigs, pine needles, leaf litter, tree limbs
- microhabitatsmicrohabitat, tree hollows, tide pool, rock crevices, leaf litter
- tropical forestscanopy layer, understory, epiphytes, lianas, forest floor