field note
The fallen log
A fallen log covered from end to end in bracket fungi — turkey tail, most likely — found in the forest above the terraces in late May 2023.
· Sameer Jain · 1 min read
This log had been down for at least a season. The bracket fungi — turkey tail, by the look of it — had covered it end to end, layer on layer, each one slightly larger than the one below.
Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) is a decomposer. It breaks lignin. Without fungi like this, dead wood would accumulate, nutrients would stay locked up, and the soil would not build the way it does. The log will be gone in a few years. The soil will be better for it.
We found three more like this in the same stretch of forest. It was a good sign.