understory

Examples of understory in the following topics:

• Energy Sources

  • For instance, plants in the understory of a temperate forest are shaded when the trees above them in the canopy completely leaf out in the late spring.
  • Not surprisingly, understory plants have adaptations to successfully capture available light.

• Tropical Wet Forest and Savannas

  • Above that is an understory of short shrubby foliage.
  • A layer of trees rising above this understory is topped by a closed upper canopy: the uppermost overhead layer of branches and leaves.

• Mosses

  • Their habitats vary from the tundra, where they are the main vegetation, to the understory of tropical forests.

• Plant Adaptations to Life on Land

  • Ferns, which are considered an early lineage of plants, thrive in damp and cool places such as the understory of temperate forests.

• Innovation and Limitation

  • Intentional burning of vegetation was taken up to mimic the effects of natural fires that tended to clear forest understories, thereby making travel easier and facilitating the growth of herbs and berry-producing plants that were important for both food and medicines.