Dying, dead, and down trees are products of the dynamics of forests and they have critical functions in forests around the world. These trees – long considered by timber interests to be a waste of wood fiber and a fire hazard – provide habitat for animals, serve as nursery sites for germination and subsequent growth of plants, and provide a store of nutrients that can be cycled through forest ecosystems (Davis et al. 1983, Harmon et al. 1986). These values have led managers to more carefully consider management of dead wood in forest stands and landscapes. In this chapter we outline: (a) patterns of dead, dying and down trees over space and time; (b) the importance of dead and dying trees and logs as key habitat components for forest wildlife; and (c) aspects of their management in forests managed for timber and other forest values. Although most of our examples come from North American and Australian forests, we focus on general concepts and trends that will have applicability to other forests such as intensively managed systems in Europe (Van Balen et al. 1982) and relatively unmanaged forests in the tropics (Paatanavibool and Edge 1996, Gibbs et al. 1993).

Patterns of dead and dying trees over space and time

Dying, dead, and down wood is produced by forest disturbances and the structure and function of the wood changes over time following the disturbances. Dead wood changes over time in two successional patterns.