Forest floor

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the feature of a forest. For the Fergus McCreadie album, see Forest Floor.
Forest floor of a temperate broadleaf forest showing leaf litter.

The forest floor, also called

fungi, algae, bacteria, and archaea
.

The forest floor serves as a bridge between the above ground living vegetation and the soil, and thus is a crucial component in nutrient transfer through the

Leaf litter and other plant litter transmits nutrients from plants to the soil.[4] The plant litter of the forest floor (or L horizon) prevents erosion, conserves moisture, and provides nutrients to the entire ecosystem.[5] The F horizon consists of plant material in which decomposition is apparent, but the origins of plant residues are still distinguishable.[2] The H horizon consists of well-decomposed plant material so that plant residues are not recognizable, with the exception of some roots or wood.[2]

The nature of the distinction between organisms "in" the soil and components "of" the soil is disputed, with some questioning whether such a distinction exists at all.[6] The majority of carbon storage and biomass production in forests occurs below ground.[7] Despite this, conservation policy and scientific study tends to neglect the below-ground portion of the forest ecosystem.[8] As a crucial part of soil and the below-ground ecosystem,[9] the forest floor profoundly impacts the entire forest.

Much of the energy and carbon fixed by forests is periodically added to the forest floor through

forest fires
.

Variation

Boreal Forest Floor in the Okanagan, British Columbia

The amount of material in the forest floor depends on the balance between inputs from litter production and outputs from decomposition, and amounts also reflect the site's disturbance history. Both litter production and decomposition are functions of the site (e.g., wet versus dry; cold versus warm; nutrient rich versus nutrient poor) and the vegetation that occupies the site (e.g.,

mineral weathering. [citation needed
]

Temperate forests

Bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Pryor's Wood, Stevenage)

The organic layer is divided into three layers: on the surface is the

monocots such as bluebells and dog's mercury.[citation needed
]

mycorrhizal fungi
of tree roots (N. America).

Tropical forests

Cloud forest (Ecuador)

In tropical rain forests, the soil itself is often very poor, in contrast to the soils of temperate forests which store nutrients in soil. The lush vegetation is made possible by the abundance and rapid action of

spike mosses, gingers and the parasitic Rafflesia
spp.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Forest Floor, Definitions and Importance".
  2. ^ a b c Green, R.N.; Trowbridge, R.L.; Klinka, K. (1993). Towards a taxonomic classification of humus forms. Forest Science.
  3. S2CID 92606851
    .
  4. PMID 28924160
    .
  5. doi:10.1142/S1464333213500191
    .
  6. S2CID 247053783
    .
  7. ^ Box, Olivia (22 October 2021). "Why the Belowground Ecosystem Matters". daily.jstor.org.
  8. doi:10.1142/S1464333213500191
    .
  9. hdl:20.500.11755/5ca13e54-6718-4c4e-a6a3-e1dade0eaa68
    .
  10. OCLC 174138928
    .
  11. OCLC 123818301
    .
  12. ^ Butler, Rhett A. "The ground layer of the rainforest". Mongabay.
  13. ISBN 978-0-444-41986-6
    .

External links
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