Why aren’t forests around the world steaming like heaps of composts

Question

So I was wondering – if organic material in my backyard compost pile generate heat and steam, why aren’t forests floors around the world doing the same?

In: 129

Answer 1

Great answers here. So the forest decomposition is doing the same thing, just on a much larger scale… another example you can consider is why hay bales sometimes get too hot and burn. Too much decomposition going on in a tightly packed bale. Round bales are less likely to do this due to air flow compared to square bales.