Layer of plant life growing above the shrub layer and below the canopy
For the 2007 novel by Pamela Erens, see The Understory.
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Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) on forest floor in spring
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above the forest floor. Only a small percentage of light penetrates the canopy so understory vegetation is generally shade-tolerant. The understory typically consists of trees stunted through lack of light, other small trees with low light requirements, saplings, shrubs, vines and undergrowth. Small trees such as holly and dogwood are understory specialists.
In temperate deciduous forests, many understory plants start into growth earlier in the year than the canopy trees, to make use of the greater availability of light at that particular time of year. A gap in the canopy caused by the death of a tree stimulates the potential emergent trees into competitive growth as they grow upwards to fill the gap. These trees tend to have straight trunks and few lower branches. At the same time, the bushes, undergrowth, and plant life on the forest floor become denser. The understory experiences greater humidity than the canopy, and the shaded ground does not vary in temperature as much as open ground. This causes a proliferation of ferns, mosses, and fungi and encourages nutrient recycling, which provides favorable habitats for many animals and plants.
In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant...
The Understory is the debut novel by American author Pamela Erens published in 2007 by Ironweed Press, and republished in 2014 by Tin House Books following...
level are present in the understory. Only about 5% of the sunlight shining on the rainforest canopy reaches the understory. This layer can be called...
mixture of aspen and spruce occur, a fairly dense understory can still thrive. The mixed wood understory, as it is called, supports the greatest diversity...
(Australian) coastal she oak litter completely suppresses germination of understory plants as shown here despite the relative openness of the canopy and ample...
where trees and shrubs form a light canopy. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a...
where they forage within manure and on items that have fallen to the understory from the canopy. They play a pivotal role in the control of ticks, flies...
arrive at the understory causing true understory plants to seldom grow to 3 m (10 feet). As an adaptation to these low light levels, understory plants have...
biology and in vegetation ecology, especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically these are dicots without woody stems. The word "forb" is derived...
as moose and Asian black bear, along with over 120 bird species. The understory of moist conifer forests may contain thickets of bamboo. In higher montane...
ovata and C. cordiformis) and black or sweet birch (Betula lenta). Small understory trees and shrubs include flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), hophornbeam...
Deodar forests are forests dominated by Cedrus deodara, the deodar cedar. This tree is found naturally in the Western Himalayas from the Gandaki River...
callistemons, grevilleas and banksias), and a semi-continuous grass in the understory. The plants in this community tend to have rough, spiky leaves due to...
colonies. The high stem turnover regime supports a diverse herbaceous understory.[citation needed] Aspen seedlings do not thrive in the shade, and it is...
three-layered, shade-tolerant understory that is roughly 9 to 15 m (30 to 50 ft) shorter than the canopy. The top layer of the understory is the sub-canopy composed...
"Vine Photosynthesis and Relationships to Climbing Mechanisms in a Forest Understory". American Journal of Botany. 75 (7): 1101. doi:10.2307/2443769. JSTOR 2443769...
forest edge, and closer to forest centres. They prefer forest with dense understory cover and steep slope, and they strongly avoid forest areas with high...
networks. The main layers of all forest types are the forest floor, the understory, and the canopy. The emergent layer, above the canopy, exists in tropical...
it can transition to Douglas-fir or grand fir, or white fir forests. Understory species depends on location. Fire suppression has led to insect outbreaks...
trees inhabit these forests including pine, cedar, fir, and redwood. The understory also contains a wide variety of herbaceous and shrub species. Temperate...
found using the mosses as a substrate, and add a wealth of colour to the understory. Lichens of genera Pannaria, Parmeliella, and Degelia add a lead-grey...
Carpinus caroliniana, the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood understory tree in the genus Carpinus. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech,...
than a few years, can be very damaging to the understory and lead to extinction of some local understory plant populations. Trillium grandiflorum is susceptible...
of both species is often limited by rivers. They typically live in the understory of the mature evergreen forests and often near rivers. Population density...
needed] Stout, Jean (1979). "An Association of an Ant, a Mealy Bug, and an Understory Tree from a Costa Rican Rain Forest". Biotropica. 11 (4): 309–311. doi:10...
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