The Rain Forest Layers in Pictures
The Emergent Layer has trees that break through the Rain Forest canopy. This area is full of birds and gets more sun. You can see the mist and clouds below the treetops.
This photo shows the top of the canopy layer. The dense trees form an "umbrella" over the forest below.
The Understory is dense with plants and animal life. You can see that it is much darker in this lower part of the rain forest layers.
The Forest Floor is dark and damp, and many insects and animals live here. Scientists have discovered that the richness of the the rain forest lies in the plant matter, not in the soil itself. The decomposition of plants and animals by mushrooms, lichens, moss, fungi and bacteria in a rain forest provide rich nutrients and energy for other living things. Temperate rainforests have soil that is richer in nutrients, here the soil relatively young and less prone to damage.
The Rain Forest is full of color.