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Understory Receiving only 2-15% of the sunlight that falls on the canopy, the understory is a dark place. It is relatively open and contains young trees and leafy herbaceous plants that tolerate low light. Many popular house plants come from this layer. Only along rivers and roadways and in treefall and cut areas is sunlight sufficient to allow growth to become thick and impenetrable.

Forest Floor The forest floor receives less than 2% of the sunlight and consequently, little grows here except plants adapted to very low light. On the floor is a thin layer of fallen leaves, seeds, fruits and branches that very quickly decomposes. Only a thin layer of decaying organic matter is found, unlike temperate forests.

Soil Most tropical forest soils are very poor and infertile. Millions of years of weathering and torrential rains have washed most of the nutrients out of the soil. More recent volcanic soils, however, can be very fertile. Tropical rain forest soils contain less organic matter than temperate forests and most of the available nutrients are found in the living plant and animal material.

Nutrient Recycling Constant warmth and moisture promote rapid decay of organic matter. When a tree dies in the rain forest, living organisms quickly absorb the nutrients before they have a chance to be washed away. When tropical forests are cut and burned, heavy rains can quickly wash the released nutrients away, leaving the soil even more impoverished.