The loss of limbs in the opening up of the canopy result in a profusion of new niches which this spring will be occupied by new flora and fauna specifically adapted to fill such vacancies. Broken crowns and splintered limbs will provide a new habitat for invading microorganisms some of which will overwhelm the trees' natural defenses resulting in decay, decline, and mortality. But out of this death comes the release of locked up nutrients which will nurture the beginnings of a new forest. Current forest practices do not mimic natural disturbances. Clearcutting on a large scale is not analogous to a forest fire.
Fire ash returns nutrients to the soil.
Whole tree harvesting removes the nutrients. The chipping of slash results in the removal of over ninety percent of the nutrients fixed in tree biomas. Perhaps most pernicious effect of clearcutting is soil compaction from heavy machinery, which causes the porosity of the soil to decline, resulting in lower oxygen levels and decreased moisture content. Invertebrates like aerating earthworms can no longer move easily through the soil and microflora, bacteria and fungi, which are dependent on high moisture levels can no longer survive. Many of these microflora are important in nitrogen fixation and are essential symbionts on tree roots.