Leave fallen leaves to protect the natural ecosystem

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — It’s the time of year for rakes, trash bags and curbs lined with endless piles of leaves. But leaving the leaves alone can fertilize your yard, protect certain insects and more.

Lucy Ellis, a natural resource project coordinator for Chattanooga Parks and Outdoors, says the public shouldn’t rush to get rid of those fallen leaves.

“Leaves on the ground are part of the natural ecosystem. It is a way that the earth recycles carbon with a lot of other nutrients,” Ellis said. “There is a lot of evidence that shows that places that don’t have leaves are devoid of some nutrients.”

She says moving them could cause damage to the lawn and ecosystem.

“Too many leaves is not a good thing, because they are sun plants. But when you’re taking the leaves out of the system, you are starving the ground of those nutrients, and it can alter the soil in a way that is not good for plants,” Ellis explained.

Keeping a small pile of leaves is ideal for the environment.

“If you don’t have a place where you can leave them where they lay, or you do want to get them out of some of the areas, or don’t want to smother something, you can certainly rake them into a pile. A thin pile is best, because then it has a chance to touch the ground and decompose in a natural way,” Ellis continued.

There are many different uses for those fallen leaves as well.

“Leaves are a great mulch,” Ellis said. “This time of year, a lot of places are mulching their gardens. Well, you can use leaves to do that too. It is the same basic concept. It is carbon covering the ground where you don’t want plants to come up, but it’s adding nutrients to the ground for the plants you do want to be there.”

The fallen leaves will also house pollinators during the winter like butterflies and bees.