What happens when a tree falls and begins to decay? In What Good Is a Dead Tree?: A Science Mystery, author and photographer Doug Wechsler reveals the hidden world inside a rotting log, where insects, fungi, and other organisms work together to recycle nutrients and sustain the forest.
Today, Doug joins us to share what inspired this fascinating deep dive into decomposition, his process for capturing nature up close, and the discoveries that made this story come alive.
Where do you find inspiration for your books?
That’s an easy one—being out in nature. I spend a lot of time in the woods, in wetlands, in tropical forests, and in deserts. I am always seeing something new. Also, as a photographer, I am forced to carefully observe relationships and intricacies of nature, often for a long period of time. What I learn, I am inspired to share. I would like kids to be able to explore nature like I did in my youth (and still do).
What got you started writing for kids?
Many years ago, my colleague from the Washington Department of Game, Ron Hirschi, started writing for children. At that time, I was starting to sell my photography. Seeing the types of books Ron was working on, I thought that is something I could do as well. It would be a great way to share my enthusiasm and knowledge of nature. I wanted kids to care about the natural world that supports us. I wrote a few articles, then eventually submitted my first book manuscript. The second publisher that received it acquired the book, Bizarre Bugs.
How do you choose subjects for your books?
They choose me. All my books come out of my experiences spending time in nature. Whatever animal or ecosystem chooses to reveal its secrets to me, becomes a potential subject.
What is your process for writing a book?
I write what I know about. By the time I decide on a topic, I have already spent a considerable amount of time in the field observing and photographing my subject. I generally will begin by writing a factual account of the topic, then start thinking about how to structure it. Will it follow a time sequence? My book, Frog Heaven, followed a vernal pool through the four seasons. My most recent book, What Good is a Dead Tree?: A Science Mystery followed a log through 50 years of decay, but as I developed the story, I realized that I could incorporate the puzzle of how the log disappears into the timeline. I thought of it as a whodunnit.
What about logs interested you in writing What Good is a Dead Tree?
As a kid on Long Island, New York, I was constantly turning over logs in the woods near our house. I was particularly fond of salamanders that live under logs.
Deer may be responsible for my recent interest. Searching for insects in the woods near home in Philadelphia, I was disappointed to realize how few native plants are in the understory. Deer had eaten them. The weedy plants and garden escapees remaining in the forest do not support much insect diversity. But there were plenty of logs, and as I discovered, plenty of fascinating insects living in them. So, I made them the focus of my nature exploration.
How did you research this book?
The countless hours I spent investigating logs were the most important part of the research for this book. I searched for as many animals and other organisms as possible to learn firsthand what they look like, how they move, and when possible, how they interact with each other. My primary sources for identifying organisms new to me were iNaturalist.org and BugGuide.net. Once I knew what they were, I consulted books, scientific papers, and web articles to learn more about them and how they fit into the ecology of the log.
What aspect of writing this book was the most fun and what was the most painful?
Spending time in the woods and making new discoveries were the most fun. Logs are full of surprises. Finding snakes, frogs, toads, and many strange insects made log investigating a treasure hunt. Connecting larvae or pupas to the adult insects I was finding was like solving puzzles.
Mosquitoes were sometimes quite common and hungry while I did my work, but the most painful encounter was with yellowjackets. I didn’t notice them flying out from beneath a log and when I turned it over, I was stung 30 times. It hurt, but fortunately I am not super sensitive to their venom.
How did you get the photographs for this book?
I searched under, on top and inside logs for the organisms that make logs their homes. I had to use special closeup lenses to photograph the smallest animals like springtails. Often there is little light on the subject. To get photos in the field, I needed to use a flash for lighting and translucent plastic sheet in front of the flash to light the subject evenly.
Where did you do field work for What Good is a Dead Tree?
Most of my field work for this book was within 10 miles of my home in Philadelphia. The city has some excellent wooded parks and there are several small preserves outside Philadelphia with lots of logs. Beyond that, I studied logs wherever I went.
Why should I care about a bunch of bugs crawling around in a rotten log and why should they be concerned about us?
These bugs along with their fungal and microbial partners are doing us huge service. Imagine if nothing chewed on all that dead wood. Logs would pile up and no nutrients would be recycled into the soil. Eventually, the forest would starve and die. Maybe many millions of years later a new civilization would figure out how to use those logs for energy.
The bugs should be concerned about you and me because we determine whether their log homes and their forest surroundings are protected from harm.
If you had to live inside a log, what creature would you be?
I would have to go with Ring-necked Snake. It’s nice to be at the top of the food chain (as long as I don’t leave the log).
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Praise for Whose Tree Is This?
“Tunnels into its topic with gusto and precision.” — Kirkus Reviews
“This great middle grade nonfiction teaches kids about the ecosystem of a fallen oak tree, and how creatures depend on dead trees and aid in decomposition. A must have for libraries.” — School Library Journal
“A finely written, intimate study of decomposition.” — Booklist
Connect with the Author
Doug Wechsler is the author and photographer of 25 children’s books on natural science. Previously, he worked at the Academy of Natural Sciences as a wildlife biologist. Doug has been looking under and inside logs since he was knee-high to a salamander.