Observing the Forest Floor
What can you observe on the forest floor?
Goal:
Goal:
One of the most important parts of the forest floor are the leaves, bark, and other natural materials that fall from trees and decay. Decay is another way to say break down into tiny pieces to become part of the soil. Decaying is the way the forest gets its nutrients so that lots of living things can grow and live there. Let’s zoom in closer to learn about some of the living things you can find if you look very carefully. Click on each row to learn more about each category.
Many animals spend their time on the forest floor. Mice, jaguars, salamanders, tapirs, and many other animals live on the ground in a forest. This anteater also lives on the forest floor. What other animals can you think of?
The forest floor is rich with all types of plants like mosses, ferns, wildflowers, skunk cabbage, and other plants that grow close to the ground.
More than a million different types of fungi have been identified, and scientists are still discovering new kinds. Fungi live on decaying plants in many places. This wonderful yellow substance is called slime mold, and it is a type of fungi. Yeasts, molds, and mushrooms are all fungi.
If you look carefully, you can see lots of insects busily working on the forest floor. Insects are important to the forest because they eat the dead leaves, bark, and trees that fall to the ground. This keeps the forest clean. The termite, which looks like a white ant, tunnels into a fallen tree and lives there. It eats the dead wood. The millipede, which looks like a small brown worm with many legs, eats the dead leaves. Earthworms eat decaying plants and dig tunnels in the ground, which helps to loosen the soil so that the plants can grow.
Question
What do fungi like mushrooms live on?
Fungi live on decaying plants.