Canopy of a forest

The canopy is one of the uppermost levels of a forest, below the emergent layer, formed by the tree crowns. A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches Canopy trees refers to the trees in a forest which form the canopy. The uneven layers of the canopy is formed by both dominant and co-dominant trees. Emergents - of which there are typically one or two per hecatre - reach above the canopy.

The canopy of a rainforest is typically 10m thick, and intercepts around 95% of sunlight. With an abundance of water and a near ideal temperature, light and minerals are the two restricting factors on a tree's growth. Plants grow rapidly to reach the canopy, but have no need to grow any taller after reaching the light.

The canopy is home to a unique flora and fauna not found in other layers of a forest.

The term has also been adopted by the permaculture and forest gardening community, who use the distinction between canopy and secondary trees in their seven layer design system. The word permaculture, coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren during the 1970s is a Portmanteau of perma nent agri' Forest gardening (also known as 3-Dimensional Gardening is a Food production and Land management system based on replicating Woodland Ecosystems

The canopy of an individual tree refers to the extent of the outer layer of a trees leaves. A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or Shade trees normally have a dense canopy blocking out the light from lower growing plants. A shade tree is any Tree grown specifically for its shade This term usually applies to large trees with spreading canopies. The Leaf Area Index can be used to measure the density of the canopy. The Leaf Area Index or LAI is the ratio of total upper Leaf surface of Vegetation divided by the Surface area of the land on which the vegetation

Canopy is also the name given to the upper layer of trees (mostly in tropical rainforests) which cover the forest's floor and protect it from strong winds and storms. Although the canopy protects the soil from winds and storms it also keeps sunlight from reaching it as well as a considerable amount of rain. As a consequence the rainforest floor has considerably less vegetation than the rest of the forest layers.

Trees in the canopy are able to photosynthesise very rapidly thanks to the large amount of light, so it supports the widest diversity of plant as well as animal life in most rainforests. Many rainforest animals have evolved to live solely in the canopy, and will never touch the ground.

See also

A canopy that has formed over Monkey Ladder Vine

• Canopy in rainforests
• Canopy gap
• Canopy research
• Canopy walkway
• The Layers of the Rainforest
• Understory (the area below the canopy)

This ecology-related article is a stub. The liana is any of various long-stemmed usually woody vines that are rooted in the soil at ground level and use trees as well as other means of vertical support to climb up to Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches In Ecology, a gap or canopy gap is an opening in the Forest canopy structure devoid of large Trees Gaps are formed after large trees Canopy research is the field of Scientific research based upon data collected in the canopy of trees Canopy walkways are bridges between and in the canopy of a Forest; mostly linked up with platforms inside or around the Trees They were originally intended Rainforests are Forests characterized by high Rainfall with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm (68-78 inches Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a Forest which grows in the shade of the emergent or forest canopy. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.