Many people consider deadwood as a long-gone part of the tree, as it is not even a living part attached to the tree anymore. However, the more correct way of referring to it is as ‘decaying’, instead of dead. It contributes to the diverse ecosystems that trees are part of and is not just a static limb. 

Decay essentially means a progression of use by a number of different organisms. Some organisms thrive in fresh wood, while others are involved in the breakdown of woody tissues. In some sense, decaying wood can be considered a habitat in its own right. Woodland managers and arborists often remove deadwood on the principle of hygiene. Doing so protects the remaining timber resources from various pests, like fungi and insects. This is especially the case in public parks and gardens, where dead wood is in fact a serious risk for people and property. But there is a problem with this, and it lies in the fact that many important species don’t find the necessary habitat to live and thrive. As a result, the arboreal system experiences a serious downside due to the lack of deadwood. 

The way that deadwood positively impacts arboreal ecosystems lies with factors like carbon storage, biodiversity, soil nutrients cycling, energy flows and hydrological processes. And while all of that is now largely understood by arborists, many of the previous generations of them have been focused on clearing deadwood. 

One example of the issue of clearing deadwood completely lies with some of the rare species, associated with veteran and ancient trees. A lot of them can only be found on sites with a higher amount of decaying wood. With organisms that rely on decaying wood becoming more isolated, trees are more vulnerable than ever. 

The signs of decaying wood habitats 

There are 2 recognised signs of decaying wood habitats. One has to do with standing trunks, branches and limbs around the tree. The second is cavities within the trunk and branches, where decay is taking effect. The habitats created because of these processes are different and recreating them takes different techniques. 

• Standing deadwood – regardless if it is about branches or whole trunks, standing deadwood is easier to recreate. There are a few techniques that arborists utilise, such as destructive pruning and ring barking trunks and branches. This type of decay takes place from the outside in, creating the ideal habitat for invertebrates, lichens and fungi. 
  
  
• Decay within the trunks/branches – the techniques involved in recreating this sort of decay are much more complex. Since the decay decomposes from the inside out. It creates cavities within seemingly healthy trunks, which are then populated by fungi and invertebrates. 
  
  

The methods utilised in creating a habitat

• Destructive pruning – often used to create a habitat in trees. It involves techniques like decay creation within the trunk and the main branch structure of the trees. 
  
  
• Veteranisation – this is a pruning technique, which aims to ‘age’ a tree prematurely in a more controlled manner. The goal is to create a habitat and stimulate the formation of another secondary crown. 
  
  
• Natural fracture pruning – these are pruning techniques that mimic the natural process of branch loss, such as after severe storms. Small branches can be cut from the above side and removed from the crown. By leaving a fractured or split branch at the end, they remain unassociated with existing growing points. 
  
  

© Treeworks Environmental Practice

Wow, Charles Dickens is using Ann Charles as a pen name?  Nope.

Even if it's not Dickens this has been the best of the Deadwood Mysteries as of yet.  Violet Parker really becomes the "Scharfrichter" in this book and takes her crew to Slagtown to take on the Hunter and is scouts, to try to become the Queen of Slagtown.  Violet starts getting comfortable with her new powers, well comfortable might be generous but she finds she can draw from her power easier than before.  This book has a lot going for it and has more action than any of the other books in this series.  Okay, maybe action as in fighting, not action as in time spent with Doc, her boyfriend, but there is that action too.

Short review.  In keeping in the Violet Parker fashion of the paranormal, we find our Scharfrichter, trying to learn about becoming an executioner and being a Time Keeper in her own, reluctant way.  Between being a single mother of twins, her job, being chased and hounded by the local police version of Rockford, and fantasizing and actually having coitus with her boyfriend, Violet actually does chase some ghosts and demons.

This is a fun little series, it's easy to read, and Ann Charles has proven that she can be unpredictable as the story keeps stretching out to what will be the 11th book coming out around Christmas 2019.

Now it's on to book 9.  Why, because it's there.

I rate this 3 stars

Rattling the Heat in Deadwood By Ann Charles
Book 8 in the Deadwood Mysteries

Here's what I like about this series;

Yep. We’re going to give Tiffany Sugarbell a run for her money and drive the ball into her key.”

“We are?” The ringing grew louder after hearing the name of Doc’s neurotic ex-girlfriend. My upper lip started to sweat. “What key?”

“You know, the key in basketball. Where her hoop is.”

Jerry spoke English as a second language, with Sport-uguese being his native tongue. Some days his accent was so thick with basketball jargon that I had to watch the instant replay video to make sense of what he was saying.

 

As soon as Tiffany caught wind of that billboard, she was going to come at me with her claws sharpened and fully extended. How could Jerry not see that the redheaded sexpot was born on Crazy Creek just this side of Nutterville’s city limits?

Jeez-on-crackers, like I needed to give the ultra-competitive, Jessica Rabbit wannabe another reason to hate me to death. She’d already spit sparks at me for stealing Doc—although for the record he’d left her well before I’d come into the picture. That billboard would make flames shoot from Tiffany’s eyes. Jerry might as well have painted a target on my ass and handed her a damned rocket launcher.