A poem by Shiona (age 9) from West Totton
When a branch is broken from a tree, or a tree dies, it falls to the woodland floor.
Very soon many different types of fungi start feeding on the dead wood making it go soft. This is called decay or rotting.
Once the wood is made softer by fungi, insects and their larvae start to burrow into it.
An adult stag beetle lays eggs near the surface of the log. The larvae hatch out of the eggs and then burrow deep into the rotting wood.
Other insects and tiny animals such as woodlice and millipedes set up home underneath the log, where it is cool, dark or damp.
There are many microhabitats in a woodland.
Rotting logs provide a micro-habitat that is perfect for insects and tiny animals