What is an understory?

What is an understory?

1 : an underlying layer of vegetation specifically : the vegetative layer and especially the trees and shrubs between the forest canopy and the ground cover. 2 : the plants that form the understory.

What happens in the understory?

The understory is the warm, damp, and sheltered layer below the leafy tree canopy. Rain drips through the canopy, but only speckled sunlight gets through. ... Smaller trees grow in patches of sunlight. These plants provide food and shelter for small animals and birds, as well as larger predators that live in the trees.

Why is the understory important?

The understory and herbaceous layer of the maritime forest makes up another important part of our forest. It is here where you find diverse and rich plant life. Understory plants enrich the soil through decomposition. The understory plants also provide a wind-buffering function at ground level.

What animals live in the understory layer of a forest?

The Understory layer of the rainforest contains mostly many differs types of plants, bugs, and small creatures. Though the most popular type of species found in this layer is the bug, other common animals are jaguars, lizards, bats, monkeys, frogs, and snakes.

What are the 5 layers of a rainforest?

Most rainforests are structured in four layers: emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor. Each layer has unique characteristics based on differing levels of water, sunlight, and air circulation.

What are the trees like in the canopy layer?

Canopy Layer Trees: Because space is so tight in the canopy layer, many of the trees have adapted to have tall skinny trunks, with big leafy branches at the top. This gives them the appearance of looking like giant umbrellas!

What is a canopy structure?

A canopy is an overhead roof or else a structure over which a fabric or metal covering is attached, able to provide shade or shelter from weather conditions such as sun, hail, snow and rain. A canopy can also be a tent, generally without a floor. ... Canopies can also stand alone, such as a fabric covered gazebo or cabana.

What is brief description?

Definition. A text description of an object in approximately one sentence; normally used for administrative and identification purposes. It records the most important information from a number of separate descriptive units of information.

What is a closed canopy forest?

A closed canopy forest is a dense growth of trees in which the top branches and leaves form a ceiling, or canopy, that light can barely penetrate to reach the forest floor.

What is open canopy?

open canopy Forests or woodlands in which the individual tree crowns do not overlap to form a continuous canopy layer but are more widely spaced, leaving open sunlit areas within the woodland. A Dictionary of Plant Sciences. × "open canopy ."

What are the three layers of a forest?

Answer. There are 3 levels in the forest. The canopy is the top layer that covers most of the forest. The middle level is called the understory, and the bottom level is called the forest floor.

Why are canopy trees important?

Public Health and Social Benefits. Clean air: Trees produce oxygen, intercept airborne particulates, and reduce smog, enhancing a community's respiratory health. The urban canopy directly contributes to meeting a city's regulatory clean air requirements.

What Liana means?

A liana is a long-stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. ... Lianas compete with forest trees for sunlight, water and nutrients from the soil.