November 16, 2008 - Leafy Blanket
Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

On a cold autumn night it is nice to have a thick comforter for warmth. The same is true in our forests. Tender plants and tiny insects benefit from the warmth of a thick layer of fallen leaves just as we do from a pile of warm covers. A layer of insulating leaves protects small woodland plants from the extremes of cold and frost. This leafy blanket also shelters insects living at the soil surface shielding them from freezing temperatures. These insects, in turn, become food for certain birds when little else is available. Fallen leaves camouflage and seal entrance holes of chipmunks, groundhogs, skunks, weasels and opossums. These same animals line their winter dens with fallen leaves. Even though we might not appreciate wind-blown leaves piling up in our yards, they serve an important role in nature.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.