Dead standing trees and fallen logs play an important role in old growth forest by enriching soil and providing food and shelter for a variety of plants and animals.

Logs harbor a multitude of small animals, including beetles, snails, salamanders, and mice, as well as fungi. Larger animals may burrow into the soft wood searching for food, or use the log as a den. In moist habitat, logs sometimes provide a place for new seedlings to grow.

Fraser’s Sedge, Carex fraseriana, is one of Maryland’s largest and showiest sedges, and is often associated with seeps and old growth woods of the Appalachian Mountains. This State Endangered species blooms between May and July.