Non-linear processes

You know how I proposed that the nettles and the brambles on the woods - the only things that can grow in soil that has been disturbed in the past by ploughing (breaking up the structure) and is contaminated by fertiliser - might be like the emergency services? Well this dude Pete Yeo seems to suggest the same: that weeds really are a healing factor for troubled ecosystems.

And then I go on about how the health of the woodland may be hugely impacted by which larger animals are present and in what numbers? Well, here's an interesting example of this kind of entanglement... moas were vital in distributing fungi who played an important role in forest ecosystems...

Anyhoo, today I was having a trot and checking a badger sett - on which more shortly. And another oak tree in trouble. This one had lost two huge branches recently.

What had led to the structural weakness? There are no signs of bleeds. Maybe it was purely the impact of frequent strong wind events over recent years. Trees are also more vulnerable on their own. And immediately after neighbouring trees have fallen on been felled (they haven't had time to adjust to the increased exposure to weather).

Once again, I saw beauty in the dead part of the tree - the oak had dead branches growing off the big branches that fell.

Talking of beauty, the badger sett inspired me!