Brunette Girl Reveals Her Pink Scarf And A Necklace Outside On Remains Of A Dead Tree

• Nutrient cycling
Coarse woody debris and its subsequent decomposition recycles nutrients that are essential for living organisms, such as carbon, nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Saprotrophic fungi and detritivores such as bacteria and insects directly consume dead wood, releasing nutrients by converting them into other forms of organic matter which may then be consumed by other organisms. CWD, while itself not particularly rich in nitrogen, contributes nitrogen to the ecosystem by acting as a host for nonsymbiotic free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Scientific studies show that coarse woody debris can be a significant contributor to biological carbon sequestration. Trees store atmospheric carbon in their wood using photosynthesis. Once the trees die, fungi and other saprotrophs transfer some of that carbon from CWD into the soil. This sequestration can continue in old-growth forests for hundreds of years.