The Weight of Wood

Dryads are the classical name of the tree spirits.
Druids are the ancient people who worshipped trees.
When a tree is cut, can you guess its weight?
Few people know of the invisible cost of cutting a tree.
Around the base of the tree, among its roots the soil lives.
The living soil is called humus.
It lives because it is sheltered by the tree.
The tree always drops needles or leaves to its base.
Many types of fungus digest what the tree casts off.
Tiny plants grow within the humus.
Tiny animals burrow through it.
Larger creatures feed on the small life of the humus.
When the tree is cut, the life around its base all dies.
The mass of all this life is the same as the mass of the tree.
This life has no economic importance.
You can't slice it into boards or grind it into paper.
It dies silently, gradually, with no loud crash.
As you watch a tree fall, try to guess its weight.
Double that figure to know what you've killed.

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Whither?

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