Old Food Forest

Segurança / Safety

Baleias assassinas? / Killer Whales?

Understory

Understory (or understorey) is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs. Young canopy trees often persist as suppressed juveniles for decades while they wait for an opening in the forest overstory which will enable their growth into the canopy. On the other hand, understory shrubs are able to complete their life cycle in the shade of the forest canopy. Also some small trees such asdogwood and holly rarely grow tall and are generally understory trees.

Forest understories have lower light intensities than at the canopy top. The wavelengths of light that are available are only a subset of those that are available in full sunlight. Understory plants must thus often be shade tolerant—they must be able to photosynthesize successfully with the limited amount of light that is available. They are often able to use wavelengths not available to canopy trees. In temperate deciduous forestsunderstory seedlings "leaf out" before the canopy trees do. This is important because it allows the understory plants a window in which to photosynthesize without the canopy present. This brief period (usually 1–2 weeks) is often a crucial period which allows the plant to maintain a net positive carbon balance over the course of the year.

Forest understories also have higher humidity than exposed areas. The forest canopy reduces solar radiation, so the ground does not heat up as rapidly. Consequently, the understory dries out more slowly than the more exposed areas do. The greater humidity allows fungi and other decomposers to flourish. This drives nutrient cycling, and provides favorable microclimates for many animals and plants

Árvores de canapé / Canopy trees

Dossel florestal é o estrato superior das florestas, que ao que tudo indica guarda as maiores biodiversidades do planeta, contendo, segundo estimativas, até 65% das formas de vida dasflorestas tropicais, onde atinge de 30 a 60 m de altura.

Devido à dificuldade de acesso e observação é um ambiente ainda pouco conhecido.

A partir da década de 1980, biólogos e ecólogos passaram a ter interesse em pesquisas neste campo, passando a adaptar técnicas de escalada utilizadas em alpinismo para ascensão às copas das árvores. Essa técnica passou a ser conhecida como arvorismo.

Canopy layer of forests

Dominant and co-dominant canopy trees form the uneven canopy layer. Canopy trees are able to photosynthesize relatively rapidly due to abundant light, so it supports the majority of primary productivity in forests.^{[citation needed]} The canopy layer provides protection from strong winds and storms, while also intercepting sunlight and precipitation, leading to a relatively sparsely vegetated understory layer.

Forest canopies are home to unique flora and fauna not found in other layers of forests. The highest terrestrial biodiversity resides in the canopy of tropical rainforests.^[5] Many rainforest animals have evolved to live solely in the canopy, and never touch the ground.

The canopy of a rainforest is typically about 10m thick, and intercepts around 95% of sunlight.^{[citation needed]} The canopy is below the emergent layer, a sparse layer of very tall trees, typically one or two per hectare. With an abundance of water and a near ideal temperature in rainforests, light and nutrients are two factors that limit tree growth from the understory to the canopy.

In the permaculture and forest gardening community, the canopy is the highest of seven layers

Overstory Canopy

The overstory level of trees, called the canopy, is made up of the very tallest trees that stand over the rest of the plants. Tall overstory trees need lots of sunlight to grow. That is why they reach up for the sun, always getting taller and taller. 

Overstory trees make good places for forest creatures to nest high above the ground. Even tall trees that are dead are used as food and housing for animals. 

Oaks are by far the most common overstory tree in the forests of the Bryant Watershed, but there are many other species too. The next time you see a forest, see if you can recognize some of these tall overstory trees. 

White Oak Quercus alba
The white oak is one of the most common and most useful trees. The leaves of the white oak are made up of long lobes like your fingers. The end of each lobe is rounded, not spiked or toothed. This tree can grow very tall and makes an excellent shade tree. In the fall the leaves of the white oak turn bright red. They then often stay on the tree through winter, looking dead and brown. The wood of the white oak is used for lumber and for making barrels. The acorn is sought after by wildlife because it is sweeter than the acorns of the other oaks. 

Silver Maple Acer saccharinum
The silver maple can be found in deep, rich soils along streams in the Bryant watershed. It is a popular tree because of its bright red fall color. The tree gets its name from the silver colored undersides of its' leaves. In the spring this tree makes seeds that are sometimes called "helicopters" because they have two wings and spin as they fall to the ground. 

Black Walnut Juglans nigra
This tree is found along streams and in the forest, especially on the moist north and east slopes. Sometimes it is planted in old fields because of its high value. Black walnut wood is valuable for use in making furniture and gunstocks. This tree produces a lemon sized green nut in the summer and drops them all over the ground in the fall. The value of the nuts themselves also confirms the old saying "money grows on trees". Walnut meat is used in baking, candy and ice cream. The shell is ground and used in many ways, including as an abrasive cleaner. The shell of a walnut is very hard to open. If you ever try to open up one of these squishy green nuts with your hands you'll be sorry you did! Inside the green part is a fleshy yellow pulp that will dye everything it touches black (your fingers, your clothes)! This staining ability is why the pulp was used by native people to dye clothing. 

American Sycamore Platanus occidentalis
Sycamore usually grows near water and is very common along Bryant Creek. If you want to find a sycamore, look at the trunks and branches for large patches of white bark--that's a sycamore! Sycamores are the biggest around of our trees and can also grow very tall. Old, hollow sycamores make good houses for birds, raccoons and squirrels.