why do animals in the tropical forest live on different layers of the forest explain with examples
Answers
Rainforests are incredible places, full of life in many different shapes and sizes. In fact, over half of the world’s animal and plant species live in rainforests!
One characteristic of rainforests that you’ll often hear about is that they have layers.
As we’ve seen, there are four main layers, the emergent, canopy, understory and forest floor (from highest to lowest).
Rainforest layers are natural divisions that occur at different heights above the forest floor. Each layer of the rainforest forms a habitat for a different group of plants and animals.
However, the layers aren’t completely separate from each other. They sometimes merge into each other, animals can move between them, and their boundaries aren’t always clearly defined.
As much as anything else, rainforest layers provide a useful way for naturalists to talk about a rainforest, and to study (and explain) how it works.
We’re now going to take an in-depth look at the layers of a rainforest, and see what animals and plants live in each one!
We’re going to start at the bottom layer (the forest floor), and make our way right up to the emergent layer at the very top!
The forest floor is where the largest rainforest animals are found. Notice the wide roots, known as ‘buttress roots’.
The forest floor is a dark, damp and hot place. Only 2% of the sunlight that falls on a rainforest reaches the forest floor.
Surprisingly, rainforest soil isn’t very rich in nutrients. This is why rainforest trees need wide – rather than deep – roots. They provide stability in the thin rainforest soil, and also help the trees to find the nutrients they need.