Most of the time, yes. After a tree is harvested for its timber and smaller size limbs are utilized for firewood, the top is left. Tops, along with the annual leaf litter that falls in the forest, act to improve the soil. The presence of tops also discourages deer browsing of seedlings and simultaneously provides a source of food for deer, who like to feed on the mushrooms that sprout on tops when snow gets deep in winter. In whole tree chipping operations, some harvested tree tops are ground into wood chips along with small diameter pulpwood, while others are left behind to rot down. Chipping the tops leaves a neater appearance in the forest immediately following the harvest; however, the same appearance can be had after a few years when tops left behind have decomposed.