Things progress in the forest life cycle. From seed to monocot or dicot to tree (at least three inches in diameter at a point 4-1/2 feet above the ground, a definitely formed crown of foliage, and a mature height of at least 13 feet, --information you can forget)
Then,on way here here you will see many snags, due to dead ash trees and wind storms. Snags are dead trees that are left upright to decompose naturally. Some snags can stand for quite some time but 7 years on average life span.
When trees fall,(shout "timber"). they are called logs (so why did you shout, “timber?”. Both snags and logs provide shelter and habitat for many creature, birds, mammals, moss, insects, fungus and geocaches, (about time I got to the point)
Fungus and bacteria eventual consume the logs (some fungi or bacteria consume cellulose , some lignin, some both. Many become nurse logs, upon which seeds sprout in the rich humus of the rotten logs. Repeating the cycle.
Now take a second and imagine if fallen trees never rotted.
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