Icon from a picrew by grgikau. Call me Tir or Julian. 37. He/They. Queer. Twitter: @tirlaeyn. ao3: tirlaeyn. 18+ Only. Star Trek. Sandman. IwtV. OMFD. Definitionless in this Strict Atmosphere.
The natural world is more interconnected than you can possibly imagine and learning about it just gives you an endless cascade of realizations about symbiotic relationships that permeate every level of the ecosystem
I’ve been learning about fallen leaves. Many of you may know that fallen leaves are used by many moth and butterfly species to hibernate through the winter. This, my friends, is only the very beginning of the leaf layer’s importance.
The layer of fallen leaves that covers the ground in winter has the following functions (and more):
Keeping the soil temperature more consistent
Insulating the earliest spring flowers to stop them from freezing
Protecting plants late in the year from being killed by early frosts
Sheltering 94% of moth species during their winter hibernation as well as many butterflies and other insects
Fertilizing and enriching the soil. The nutrients in fallen leaves are the main source of soil nutrients in habitats worldwide. Streams and rivers in forests carry the nutrients of leaves far and wide.
Providing habitat for predators like salamanders and spiders.
Suppressing weed growth.
Improving the germination of tree seeds (e.g. acorns)
Attracting beneficial microbes
Increasing the water holding capacity of the soil
Providing a food source for birds to feed their babies on in the spring (insects)
What’s more, the fallen leaves of every species of tree have different properties that affect their effects on the ecosystem, including: size, shape, toughness, and speed of decomposition. The leaves of broadleaf deciduous trees are optimized to support and fertilize the deciduous forest environment.
Recently there have been memes and info-graphics going around telling people to leave the leaves! because of their importance for pollinator hibernation.
People without opportunities and/or initiative to look closely at what nature is doing probably didn’t know much of this, if any of it.
Wait raking leaves is bad? I was always told that if you don’t rake your leaves they attract “vermin” (which I now recognize as friendly transients passing through your little patch of nature) and mold and rot and kill your grass. Is that just more anti-nature propaganda?
Sure they “attract” mold, but the mold is just…eating the leaves and making them into nutrients for plants. Mold and mold spores are already present on basically every surface and environment ever. If your house and walls are not moldy, it is because your house and walls are not of the moisture level needed for mold, not because they have yet to be exposed to mold.
It would take a lot of leaves to kill your grass, and if you have enough leaves to form a grass-smothering leaf layer, honestly just don’t have grass. The trees will be happier, the soil will be happier, and the poor grass will be relieved of its misery. Do whatever trimming and weeding you see fit, but leaves are pure topsoil-building gold, and you can see their effects in plush, springy forest soil.
