LAYERS

Of The Rainforest

Forest Floors

• The rain forest is like a building with many different floors. The floors are called strata or layers.

• Each layer is home for different kinds of plants and animals.

The Canopy

• The tops of the trees in a forest form a layer called the canopy.

• The canopy is like a big, green umbrella over the whole forest. In most tropical rain forests, the canopy is more than 100 feet above ground!

• The canopy is noisy! Most of the animals in the rain forest live there. Birds squawk, monkeys chatter, and frogs croak all day long!

• These animals eat canopy leaves, insects, nuts, and fruits.

• Many animals live their whole lives in the canopy and never even touch the ground!

• In some rain forests, a few trees grow even taller than the canopy trees. These trees are called emergents and can be taller than a 14 – story building!

The Understory• Under the canopy and the emergent trees

is a layer called the understory.

• The understory is dark and shadowy. Can you guess why?

• Because the leaves from the canopy are so close together that only a tiny bit of sun shines through!

• The trees in the understory are not very tall. Some are young trees that will grow and become part of the canopy.

• Most understory trees will never

grow taller than 15 feet.

• Many different kinds of wild cats live here. The understory is also home for bats, owls, monkeys, snakes, and lizards.

The Forest Floor• The bottom layer of the rainforest is the forest floor.• The forest floor is very dark and quiet. The ground is covered with rotting

leaves. A few ferns and bushes grow among the giant canopy tree trunks.

• The animals that live here are jaguars, snakes, and millions of insects and

spiders (yuck!).

Each layer of the rain forest can seem like a separate world! But, all the plants and animals in the rain forest are connected. They depend on each other to survive!