Interesting result of putting logs and wood chips around base of fruit trees

I have two acres and about one acre of that is natural grasses. Since moving onto the property, I have been planting as many different fruit and nut trees there as possible. Last winter we cut down some pine trees into logs about 1-2 feet in length and I arranged the logs around the fruit trees. I then placed wood chips from the County landfill in between the logs and the fruit tree. Something that I noticed this summer that I have not seen in previous years was a huge number of tiny lizards on the property. They tend to hang around the logs and will run under the bark when you spook them. They are tiny also - only about two inches in length. Don't know the species.

i too have had a lot of lizards in my bark and wood products in my gardens. some of them are so beautiful, i love the ones that are bright blue !!

I also have noticed that things are growing better where I have either buried wood, chips or where I have put some on top of the soil around things..but I did find that larger pieces of bark did seem to foster weed growth ..esp quackgrasses.. so I'm thinking that the bark should be in smaller pieces when I use it. (some was large sections that came off of firewood)..

I am enjoying the learning experience

I've used logs and chips around new trees a lot. Usually I use the chips to cover cardboard or paper, with which the grass and weeds are suppressed. In heavy clay I've made raised mounds, edged with logs, so as to raise the grade a few inches around each new tree.....this gives it better drainage for the first few crucial years.....later as the logs rot and the mound settles the tree has grown and can handle the wet better.

What I have been wondering is why would the logs and wood chips attract small lizards? One possibility is that when it rains, the logs and wood chips soak up precipitation and become islands of moisture days and weeks later.

the logs and wood chips soak up precipitation and become islands of moisture days and weeks later.

Probably. Where there is water, there is life. The soil microbes need it too.
It is like building the habitat the critters would naturally find in a forest.