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Nurse log

What is a nurse log - a fallen gian tree providing a linear nursery for young trees

In some forests where the trees grow tall and straight, like those in the US Pacific Northwest, when a giant tree falls it creates an opening in the forest canopy that lets in light for new growth to take foot.

The mighty fallen tree trunks themselves provide a new surface for seedlings to take root, away from the competition of the forest floor. When this happens, the fallen tree becomes an integral part of a new ecosystem.

Such fallen trees are known as nurse logs. Sometimes, a nurse log is so successful as a nursery for the young trees that they will grow along the full length of the fallen trunk. When the nurse log finally decays, it leaves behind a remarkable straight line of trees.

This sketch appears in my book Big Ideas Little Pictures

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