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The amount of material in the forest floor depends on the balance between inputs from litter production and outputs from decomposition, and amounts also reflect the site's disturbance history. Both litter production and decomposition are functions of the site (e.g., wet versus dry; cold versus warm;
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and other plant litter transmits nutrients from plants to the soil. The plant litter of the forest floor (or L horizon) prevents erosion, conserves moisture, and provides nutrients to the entire ecosystem. The F horizon consists of plant material in which decomposition is apparent, but the origins of
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The nature of the distinction between organisms "in" the soil and components "of" the soil is disputed, with some questioning whether such a distinction exists at all. The majority of carbon storage and biomass production in forests occurs below ground. Despite this, conservation policy and
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may be considerably less apparent, or virtually absent at certain times of the year. With up to three defined canopy layers above, relatively low levels of sunlight (as little as 2%) reach here. Examples of the wide range of plants adapted to this zone include:
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Ochoa-Hueso, R; Delgado-Baquerizo, M; King, PTA; Benham, M; Arca, V; Power, SA (February 2019). "Ecosystem type and resource quality are more important than global change drivers in regulating early stages of litter decomposition".
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which is the product of decomposed vegetable matter. Between litter and humus is a partially decomposed layer of organic matter ("F: fragmented organic materials"). Some specialists consider this zone to be equivalent to the
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In tropical rain forests, the soil itself is often very poor, in contrast to the soils of temperate forests which store nutrients in soil. The lush vegetation is made possible by the abundance and rapid action of
323:(O) whereas for others, this only includes the humus and the intermediate layer, excluding the litter. Woodland plants that inhabit this zone often have bulbs or rhizomes and include ferns such as
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scientific study tends to neglect the below-ground portion of the forest ecosystem. As a crucial part of soil and the below-ground ecosystem, the forest floor profoundly impacts the entire forest.
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plant residues are still distinguishable. The H horizon consists of well-decomposed plant material so that plant residues are not recognizable, with the exception of some roots or wood.
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The forest floor serves as a bridge between the above ground living vegetation and the soil, and thus is a crucial component in nutrient transfer through the
268:). A site's forest floor is determined by its areal weight, depth, and nutrient content. Typically, forest floors are heaviest and deepest in
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Stohr, Whitney J. (2013). "BELOWGROUND ECOSYSTEMS: THE FOUNDATION FOR FOREST HEALTH, RESTORATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT".
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Stohr, Whitney J. (2013). "BELOWGROUND ECOSYSTEMS: THE FOUNDATION FOR FOREST HEALTH, RESTORATION AND SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT".
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170:. In some countries, like Canada, forest floor refers to L, F and H organic horizons. It hosts a wide variety of
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Veen, Ciska; Fry, Ellen L; ten Hooven, Freddy C.; Kardol, Paul; Morrien, Elly; De Long, Jonathan R. (2019).
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where decomposition rates are slow. In contrast, the lightest and thinnest forest floors usually occur in
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609:"RUSSELL REVIEW Are plant roots only "in" soil or are they "of" it? Roots, soil formation and function"
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where decomposition rates are rapid, except on white sands where nutrients could not be supplied from
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525:"The coupling of leaf, litter, and soil nutrients in warm temperate forests in northwestern China"
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Much of the energy and carbon fixed by forests is periodically added to the forest floor through
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Bourgeron PS (1983). "Spatial
Aspects of Vegetation Structure". In Frank B. Golley (ed.).
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nutrient rich versus nutrient poor) and the vegetation that occupies the site (e.g.,
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and other organisms, which break down organic matter and promptly consign it to the
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This article is about the feature of a forest. For the Fergus McCreadie album, see
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834:. Ecosystems of the World (14A ed.). Elsevier Scientific. pp. 29–47.
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Zhang, Guangqi; Zhang, Ping; Peng, Shouzhang; Chen, Yunming; Cao, Yang (2017).
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The organic layer is divided into three layers: on the surface is the
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Forest floor of a temperate broadleaf forest showing leaf litter.
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that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the
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American Museum of
Natural History: Forest Floor Diodrama.
741:. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. p. 606.
696:"The Role of Plant Litter in Driving Plant-Soil Feedbacks"
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Tropical Rain Forest
Ecosystems. Structure and Function
778:. Elsevier/Academic Press, Amsterdam; Boston. pp.
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formed by undecomposed vegetable matter; underneath is
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58:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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462:Green, R.N.; Trowbridge, R.L.; Klinka, K. (1993).
893:Taltree:Arboretum & Garden: The Forest Floor.
723:20.500.11755/5ca13e54-6718-4c4e-a6a3-e1dade0eaa68
464:Towards a taxonomic classification of humus forms
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444:"Forest Floor, Definitions and Importance"
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650:"Why the Belowground Ecosystem Matters"
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385:. Therefore, the leaf litter layer of
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813:"The ground layer of the rainforest"
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883:Encyclopedia Network: Soil Quality.
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737:Perry DA, Oren R, Hart SC (2008).
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480:Soil Biology and Biochemistry
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16:Part of the forest ecosystem
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355:of tree roots (N. America).
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607:Gregory, Peter J. (2022).
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351:obtaining nutrients from
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368:Cloud forest (Ecuador)
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331:such as bluebells and
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918:Biogeochemical cycle
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203:biogeochemical cycle
52:improve this article
541:2017NatSR...711754Z
414:Coarse woody debris
383:mycorrhizal network
150:, is the part of a
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529:Scientific Reports
398:and the parasitic
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344:Sarcodes sanguinea
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282:mineral weathering
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875:Media related to
863:Media related to
841:978-0-444-41986-6
811:Butler, Rhett A.
739:Forest ecosystems
466:. Forest Science.
353:mycorrhizal fungi
288:Temperate forests
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45:verification
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22:Forest Floor
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486:: 144–152.
312:leaf litter
296:Bluebells (
207:Leaf litter
172:decomposers
902:Categories
430:References
379:millipedes
223:arthropods
219:litterfall
78:newspapers
798:123818301
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635:247053783
401:Rafflesia
304:Stevenage
266:broadleaf
237:Variation
176:predators
166:and shed
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567:28924160
510:92606851
408:See also
375:termites
329:monocots
250:Okanagan
192:bacteria
144:detritus
558:5603570
537:Bibcode
396:gingers
325:bracken
264:versus
262:conifer
196:archaea
92:scholar
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588:(4).
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316:humus
227:fungi
188:algae
184:fungi
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563:PMID
347:: a
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