The Forest Floor Layer

It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts such as leaves branches bark and stems existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface.

The forest floor layer.

Large leafed shrubs and saplings new trees grow in the patches of sunlight. The forest floor is also where decomposition takes place. Dead leaves fallen from the plants in the layers above cover the ground. 1 mainly contains decomposing plant material such as leaves bark branches and stems.

The forest floor is where recycling occurs fungi insects bacteria and earthworms are among the many organisms that break down waste materials and ready them for reuse and recycling throughout the forest system. Decomposition is the process by which fungi and microorganisms break down dead plants and animals and recycle essential materials and nutrients. The forest floor also called detritus duff and the o horizon is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. The forest floor is the bottom layer of the rainforest and its also the darkest layer of the rainforest.

Only two percent of sunlight gets through the thick canopy trees and understory plants to reach the forest floor. Also many of the largest rainforest animals are found on the forest floor. The forest floor also known as the o horizon of the soil profile or the litter layer fig. Vegetation in the herb layer often gets little light and in forests with thick canopies shade tolerant species are.

The forest floor is the lowest layer where it is dark hot and damp.