Sometimes it is better to do nothing



I-75 North of West Branch

I missed the only snowstorm during the winter of 2011-12 volunteering for a Japanese language competition in East Lansing. When my friend Wanda and I made the return trip that Sunday, we encountered little evidence of the storm until we reached West Branch, an hour and a half from my home. It was like someone had put up a snow fence along the road, for one minute there was nothing on the ground and the next, all the trees were heavily caked with snow. When we arrived in my neighborhood, a solitary lane was open for cars to pass through and less than a car’s width of driveway available for me to pull up to the house. It is difficult to describe the scene I found: trees were broken with their branches sagging low from the weight of the wet heavy snow. It would take a week of warming temperatures to reveal the extent of the damage done for it was impossible to move around the yard so buried with deep snow.

When the spring came, my sister and brother in law came up to help us trim the damaged trees, removing the branches that dangled dangerously over the driveway and house. The brush pile grew huge as the spindly side twigs were lopped off to create logs for the fireplace. The clearing process took weeks to finish.

I was reminded of this storm as I read this morning’s ScienceDaily. Harvard University scientists performed a study on the effects of clearing away weather damaged vegetation to the overall health of wooded areas. The study revealed that removing dead and broken trees reduced the biodiversity needed for growth of new vegetation and survival of woodland animals, particularly amphibians, in the area. Allowing the down trees to decompose naturally prevented the introduction of invasive plant species that thrive on disturbed land. The study also found that the untouched forest was able to reestablish itself faster than when cleared.

Science has once again proven that letting nature take its course is always the best solution. Not that my neighbors would like that alternative but I could have limited my clearing process to the front yard that is visible to the street. I did retain part of the brush pile in the back of the yard that has now become the home for sparrows and field mice. At least I did something right.

ScienceDaily - October 18, 2012. National Science Foundation (2012, October 17). Doing nothing might be best management decision for forests destroyed by wind or ice.