The forest floor , also called detritus, duff and O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of the forest ecosystem. It consists mainly of vegetative parts of warehouses, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, which exist in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface. Although mainly composed of non-living organic materials, the forest floor is also filled with various fauna and flora. It is one of the richest components of the ecosystem from a biodiversity point of view due to the large number of decomposers and predators present, mostly belonging to invertebrates, fungi, algae, bacteria, and archaea. Certain plants (adapted) may be more pronounced in tropical forests, where the metabolic rate and species diversity are much higher than in cold climates.
The main compartments for the storage of organic matter and nutrients in the system are live vegetation, forest floor, and soil. The forest floor serves as a bridge between live vegetation on soil and soil, and it is an important component in nutrient transfer through the biogeochemical cycle. Most of the energy and carbon set by forests are periodically added to the forest floor through litter, and most nutritional needs of the forest ecosystem are supplied by decomposition of organic matter on the forest floor and ground level. Sustainable forest productivity is closely related to the decomposition of harvested plant parts, especially nutrient-rich foliage. The forest floor is also an important fuel source in forest fires.
Video Forest floor
Composition
The amount of material on the forest floor depends on the balance between the inputs of litter production and the output of the decomposition, and the amount also reflects the history of site disruption. Both litter production and decomposition are site functions (eg, wet versus dry, cold versus warm, nutrient rich versus poor nutrients) and vegetation that occupy the site (eg, conifer versus leafy width). The forest floor of a site is determined by the weight of the area, the depth, and the nutrient content. Typically, the heaviest and deepest forest floor in boreal forest and mountain forest where decomposition rates are slow. In contrast, the lightest and thinest forest floor usually occurs in tropical forests with rapid decomposition rates, except on white sand where nutrients can not be supplied from mineral weathering.
The forest is
The organic layer is divided into three layers: on the surface is a leaf litter formed by an undecomposed vegetable material; underneath is the humus which is the product of the decomposed vegetable material. Between litter and humus are layers of partially decomposed organic matter ("F: fragmented organic materials"). Some experts consider this zone as equivalent to the soil horizon (O) whereas for others, this only includes humus and an intermediate layer, excluding waste. Forest plants that inhabit this zone often have tubers or rhizomes and include ferns such as bracken, monocots such as blue leaf and mercury dogs.
Tropical forests
Due to the action of termites, millipedes, and other organisms, the litter layer of tropical forest may be less clear, or almost non-existent at certain times of the year. With up to three layers of canopy specified above, relatively low sunlight levels (as small as 2%) reach here. Examples of plants adapted to this zone include: spike moss, ginger and parasite Rafflesia spp.
Maps Forest floor
See also
- crude wood flakes
- Plant trash
References
External links
- Related media with Plant litter (ecology) on Wikimedia Commons
- The Encyclopedy Network: Soil Quality.
- American Museum of Natural History: Diodrama Forest Floor.
- Taltree: Arboretum & amp; Garden: The Forest Floor.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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