Understory

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Understory

Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a forest

Forest

File:Stara planina suma.jpgA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on various criteria....
which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy

Canopy (forest)

Canopy refers to the aboveground portion of a plant community or crop, formed by Crown_.Canopy is also the term for the upper layer or zone of a forest, formed by Crown_ and including other biological organisms ....
. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is a horticulture rather than strictly Botany category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall....
s and herbs. Young canopy trees often persist as suppressed juveniles for decades while they wait for an opening in the forest overstory which will enable their growth into the canopy.

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Encyclopedia

Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a forest

Forest

Canopy (forest)

Shrub

Biological life cycle

A life cycle is a period involving one generation of an organism through means of reproduction, whether through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction....
in the shade of the forest canopy. Also some small trees such as dogwood

Dogwood

The Dogwoods comprise a group of 30-50 species of mostly deciduous woody plants growing as shrubs and trees; some species are herbaceous perennial plants and a few of the woody species are evergreen....
and holly

Holly

Holly is a genus of approximately 600 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family....
rarely grow tall and are generally understory trees.

Forest understories have lower light intensities. The wavelength

Wavelength

In physics, wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating wave of a given frequency. It is commonly designated by the Greek language letter lambda ....
s of light that are available are only a subset of those that are available in full sunlight. Understory plants must therefore be shade tolerant—they must be able to photosynthesize

Photosynthesis

File:Seawifs global biosphere.jpgPhotosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight....
successfully with the limited amount of light that is available. They are often able to use wavelengths not available to canopy trees. In temperate deciduous forests

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests are a temperate and humid biome. The typical structure of these forests include four layers. The upper most layer is the canopy which is composed of tall mature trees....
understory seedlings "leaf out" before the canopy trees do. This is important because it allows the understory plants a window in which to photosynthesize without the canopy present. This brief period (usually 1–2 weeks) is often a crucial period which allows the plant to maintain a net positive carbon balance over the course of the year.

Forest understories also have higher humidity than exposed areas. The forest canopy reduces solar radiation, so the ground does not heat up as rapidly. Consequently, the understory dries out more slowly than does more exposed areas. The greater humidity allows fungi and other decomposers to flourish. This drives nutrient cycling

Biogeochemical cycle

In ecology and Earth science, a biogeochemical cycle or nutrient cycle is a pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth....
, and provides favorable microclimate

Microclimate

A microclimate is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area. The term may refer to areas as small as a few square feet or as large as many square miles ....
s for many animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the Kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life....
s and plant

Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
s.

Understory

See also