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Cool Things About a Rain Forest
Banana Slugs
The banana slug is the largest slug in the world. It can from to 20 cm (9 inches)
long and tip the scales at 120 g (1/4 lb.). Feeding on lichens, mushrooms and
herbs, it slides along on a trail of slime dribbled from its chin.
Dwarf Mistletoe
Dwarf Mistletoe, a parasitic plant, can fire its sticky seeds up to 15 meters!
They land on nearby hemlocks and extend feeder roots into the living host. Affected
trees develop clumps of spoke-like branches.
Epiphytes
Overhead in the forest clumps of mosses, lichens and ferns festoon the branches
and trunks of rainforest trees. These epiphytes (Greek for "upon
a plant") do not send feeder roots into the living tissue of their host.
Instead, they depend on nutrients borne by the wind and moisture from rain and
condensed fog.
At least 100 species of epiphytes live on these trees, each fine-tuned to available light, temperature and moisture. Sun-loving beard lichens encrust upper branches while streamer of thread moss drape lower branches. A single tree may bear a load of 25kg of epiphytes.
Fallen Trees/Nurse Logs
Many of the trees in this forest, including three quarters of all the hemlocks,
started life on fallen trees that became rotted logs. Lines of mature trees may
indicate a common beginning on a single nurse log. Hemlock saplings are nourished
by nutrients released as the wood rots. Inside the log, the intense activity
of decay fungi and bacteria raises the temperature a few degrees, stimulating
the growth of tree roots. Gradually they inch around the log and touch the ground.
After 100 years only one out of 1000 original seedlings may remain.
The rotting wood seethes with activity. Pseudo-scorpions stalk along dark tunnels,
salamander eggs stir and hatch and mites nibble fungus. At the peak of decay,
a rotting log harbours more organisms than there are people on earth.
Learn more about how fallen trees and the living forest contribute to the life of a salmon.
The Forest Floor
Only 5 to 10% of sunlight striking the canopy reaches the ground floor, but that's
just enough for the shrubs to run rampant. Deceived by this lush undergrowth,
early settlers had visions of radishes as big as pumpkins. However, most of their
crops withered in the acidic, nutrient-poor soil. Unlike crop plants, shrubs
like salal, false azalea and huckleberry can absorb essential nitrogen in the
form of ammonia - present in very acidic soils. Over thousands of years they
have adapted to conditions other plants cannot tolerate.
The Ground Soil
The soil - a world of perpetual night where miniature life forms roam a maze
of roots, soil particles and rotting wood. The surface layer, a thick mat of
decaying plant and animal matter, is the food bank of the rainforest community.
But it doesn't release its wealth easily. Material rots slowly in this acidic
soil and heavy rains carry nutrients deep beyond the reach of many plant roots.
Soil fungi thrive in acidic conditions. A thimbleful of soil may contain several kilometres of microscopic fungal threads. These are grazed on by mites and springtails, consumed in turn by larger organisms. The health of the entire forest depends on this ballet of interaction beneath out feet.
Shady Plants (Deer fern, Salal, False Lily
of the valley)
Plants adapted to deep shade often have large flat leaves designed to intercept
as much light as possible. These richly coloured leaves are crammed with chlorophyll,
the green pigment all plants use to capture the energy of sunlight.
Small Mammals (Deer mouse)
Small Mammals eat the fruiting bodies of underground fungi and later deposit
the undigested spores on log runways. The spores produce masses of tiny threads
that wrap around the roots of conifer seedlings, helping them absorb nutrients
while receiving sugars in return.
Snags
Snags serve as multilevel apartments, providing food and shelter for thousands
of animal tenants. As a tree starts to decay, nuthatches patrol the trunk, chipping
off flakes of bark in search of insects. After the bark sloughs off, the pileated
woodpecker chisels out a nest cavity. To feed its young, it drills rectangular
holes into dead trees, plucking out juicy ants and termites. In turn, abandoned
woodpecker holes provide homes for squirrels and raccoons. Thus, snags and the
insects that invade them, continue to support the life of the forest.
Streams
In this forest, rain sets the theme. Dripping off leaves and trickling down trunks,
a life-line of water flows through the community. Small streams, stained brown
from tannins released from rotting cedar, provide habitat for some rarely seen
forest residents.
The stream's load of wood provides food for insects and cover for small fish. In the spring, when the skink cabbage bursts into bloom, the red-legged frog gives its mating call underwater. Rarely is it heard over the chorus of tree frogs breeding at the same time. The northwestern salamander inhabits moist crannies on land, but breeds in pools, laying clumps of eggs around submerged twigs.
Small groups of spawning adult salmon swim up fresh water streams when it is swollen by autumn rains. Learn more about how streams and the forest contribute to the life of a salmon.
Tropical vs Temperate
The temperate rainforest, such as Tofino rainforests, has fewer different species
than its tropical counter-part, but may contain the greatest weight of living
organisms per area of any ecosystem on earth. Learn
more about Tofino temperate rainforests here.
Cool Things About a Rain Forest, Welcome To Ucluelet, BC
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