A fallen Douglas Fir replenishing the forest floor.When a tree falls to the ground it is marking the beginning of new life.As these fallen giants,some well over 800 years old,begin to decay,their spongy wood absorbs rain water and supplies nutrients for plants like mosses,ferns,salal,huckleberry and young Hemlock trees.The dead tree acts like a nursery,providing a place for the young plants to grow above the shade of the plants on the forest floor.In this way,the old wood is recycled as it nourishes the new forest.