LAUSR

Fine and coarse woody debris (WD), or woody necromass, serves a multitude of functions in forests including: essential habitat for countless vertebrate, arthropod and microbial species; substrate for regenerating plants, for example as nurse logs; a dominant carbon source for heterotrophs; and both a sink and source for essential nutrients (Harmon et al. 1986; Palace et al. 2012). Further, as WD decomposes, resulting fragments and microbial byproducts of the decay process provide a major source of organic matter for soils (Magnusson et al. 2016). Finally, WD can account for up to 20% of carbon storage in forests (Harmon et al. 1986; Palace et al. 2012), with an important role in biosphere -atmosphere CO2 exchange.