02/10/2024
Leaves are a natural habitat for butterflies, salamanders, chipmunks, box turtles, toads, shrews, earthworms and others. They lay eggs in the leaves and feed on and under the leaf layer. By raking or blowing leaves, you disrupt their life cycle and eliminate beneficial insects.
-Data suggests that one square meter of leaf litter could house between 40,000 to 50,000 springtails, tiny arthropods that are easy to overlook but important to ecosystems. Trashing leaves takes away an important source of protection for these and other critters in the colder months.
-Leaf litter is also a destination for non-migrating birds like cardinals, who hop around feasting on the sheltering bugs below.
-Dead leaves play a major role in infusing soil with new nutrients. The invertebrates that come along to munch on the leaves start the process of breaking them down before microbes help finish the job.
