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Article: Rain Forest Canopy
- Article from:
- Plant Sciences
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Rain Forest Canopy
The rain forest canopy consists of the treetop region or, more precisely, of the aggregate of every tree crown in the rain forest, including foliage, twigs, fine branches, and
epiphytes
. The upper canopy represents the interface between the uppermost layer of leaves and the atmosphere, and, for practical purposes, many researchers consider this layer to be only a few meters deep. Most of the biological activity in and
biodiversity
within tropical rain forests appears to be concentrated in the upper canopy.
Many
abiotic
and
biotic
characteristics of the canopy are different from the understory beneath. Its higher illumination levels promote more rapid rates of ...