Why do we need to rake/bag up leaves? Wont they biodegrade on their own?
In: 12397
Most of the commenters are missing that there is a major difference in impact of fall leaves between urban and rural areas.
If you live in an urban area the added phosphorous and nitrogen from leaves in stormwater runoff can be quite toxic to local waterways. The process is called eutrophication and you can read more here
[https://blog.envirosight.com/fall-foliage-fouls-stormwater-runoff](https://blog.envirosight.com/fall-foliage-fouls-stormwater-runoff)
and here:
[https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html)
Obviously rural and some suburban residents have different considerations, but I’d be cautious about taking a rural resident’s leaf maintenance practices and applying them to urban areas with stormwater systems.
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