Untitled glog

The shrub layer. It is dark and gloomy with very little vegetation between the trees. During heavy rainfalls this area can flood.

The under canopy is the second level up. There is limited sunlight. Saplings wait here for larger plants and trees to die, leaving a gap in the canopy which they can grow into. Woody climbers called lianas avoid having to wait for gaps by rooting in the ground and climbing up trees to get to the sunlight.

The canopy is where the upper parts of most of the trees are found. The canopy is typically about 65 to 130 feet (20 to 40 metres) tall. This leafy environment is home to insects, arachnids, birds and some mammals.

Emergents are the tops of the tallest trees in the rainforest. These are much higher, and so are able to get more light than the average trees in the forest canopy.