I had an apple tree when I was a kid. There was a heavy winter
  storm. The old tree froze. It cracked in half, broke. We left it
  there. That Spring, it produced more apples than it ever did
  before We left it there. The following year, it produced even
  MORE apples. It didn't come back the next Spring and we dug it
  up. So yes, even other life forms are desperate when they see
  their ends coming.