canopy layer
Treetop ecosystem zone
The canopy layer is the upper level of a forest, formed by the crowns of the tallest trees.
This dense ceiling of foliage captures most of the sunlight, creating the shaded conditions of the forest floor below.
The canopy supports distinct ecosystems—many rainforest species spend their entire lives in the canopy without descending to the ground.
- tropical rainforestHumid equatorial biome with dense vegetation
- epiphytesPlants growing on others
- dappledMarked with spots
- deforestationLarge-scale woodland elimination
- foliagePlant's leafy covering
hanging bridges · arboreal · orchids · lianas · vines · stratification · bromeliads · branch network · photosynthesis · monkeys · suspended · carbon sequestration · dense · leaves · emergent · endemic species · jungle · branches
- rainforestrainforest, jungle, tropical, tropics, understory
- rainforeststropical rainforest, forest floor, understory, Borneo, Sumatra
- Amazon RainforestAmazon, tropical rainforest, Amazon rainforest, Amazon basin, jungle
- layerspaper sheets, veneer, laminate, primer, base coat
- tropical forestsunderstory, epiphytes, lianas, forest floor, buttress roots
- tropicsequator, tropical climate, coconut tree, tropical, tropical zone
vertical forest stratification
canopy layerforest floor
Ground beneath trees
understory · root zone · leaf litter · ground cover · dark zone