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Layers of the subtropical rain forest | |
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• Emergent Layer |
• Canopy |
• Middle layer (Intermediate layer) |
• Underbrush or shrub layer |
• Ground level |
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Emergent Layer 20-30 meter tall trees protrude from the green mass, their tops standing out against the sky to form the upper layer of the forest. In the past the araucaria angustifolia was the dominant tree forming the canopy 40 meters tall. |
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Canopy In their search for sunlight, medium-sized trees form a closed canopy of foliage at a height of 10-20 meters, the so-called second level. |
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Middle layer (Intermediate layer) The smaller trees (3-10 meters) form another stratum beneath the former; this is the third or intermediate level, in which the treetops are separated from each other. This, of course, is not a distinct demarcation as the different levels blend into each other continuously and are entangled in a thicket of lianas and creepers that blur its outlines. |
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Underbrush or shrub layer In the half-light of the underbrush (1-3 meters) can be found a large number of ferns, shrubs and plants such as Piperaceae (such as pepper plants), Leguminosae (plants from the legume family), Myrtaceae (such as the myrtle plant), and Rubiaceae (such as the coffee plant and poison ivy). |
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Ground level In this layer (0-1 meter), of the umbroso type, sunlight is very scarce. There are Gramineae (plants of the grass family) with large leaves, ferns, many herbs and begonias. These plants provide ground cover several centimeters in height. There is also a large quantity of rooting material (like trunks, leaves and branches) accumulated on the ground from which appear lichens, fungi and moss. |
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