The different rainforest layers are visible whenever you go hiking through a rainforest.  Here is a quick overview of the four main rainforest layers: emergent layer, canopy, understory, and the forest floor.

Maybe you’ve never actively thought to yourself about the canopy or the understory when you go hiking in a rainforest.  Even if you haven’t thought about it, I bet you’ve noticed that there appears to be different layers of the rainforest.  Yes, it is true that there are several different layers to a rainforest.  Each layer of the rainforest consists of different types of plants and provides habitat for animals that don’t live in the other layers.

The Layers Of A Forest

There are many different types of forest found throughout the world.  The main forests are the temperate forests, boreal forests, and rainforests.  All of these forests vary in terms of what trees and vegetation make them up.  But, they also vary in terms of how many layers they have.

A rainforest has four main layers, but a temperate forest has five main layers.  The main types of forest found in the USA are temperate forests.

Four Main Rainforest Layers As A Means To Understand And Appreciate The Rainforest

A basic knowledge of the main layers of a rainforest will help you more easily understand and learn about the rainforest.  The next time you go for a walk in a rainforest you can look up and around you and see the canopy and the understory.

The next step is to begin to learn what trees grow in the canopy and what grows in the understory.  This knowledge will help you get to know the rainforests and better understand and appreciate them.

Emergent Layer – The emergent layer, sometimes also called the overstory, is the absolute tallest layer of trees.  These are the tallest trees that emerge out of the top of the forest and stick up above the rest of the trees.

The trees in this layer do not form a thick layer, but are spread out throughout the forest.

Canopy – This is the upper, thick layer of the forest that consists of an almost continuous layer of trees and leaves.  Most of the trees in a forest grow to this height.

The foliage in this layer is so thick that it blocks most of the sunlight and rain from penetrating through it to the lower layers.

Some of the plants that grow in the canopy are epiphytes, whose roots never make it to the ground.

Understory – This is the level of a  rainforest that we see when we are hiking or walking through it.  This is the level of shrubs, and plants that grow well below the canopy, but above the ground.

The plants in this layer tend to have big, wide broadleaves in order to capture as much of the sunlight as they can.

Forest Floor – This is the bottommost layer of the rainforest.  This layer gets almost zero sunlight and is often dark, and damp.

The rainforest floor consists of dead leaves, twigs, and very little to no vegetation.  You can also find fungus here as it decomposes logs and leaves.