Old-growth Quinault rainforest is structured in distinct vertical layers, from a shaded, moss-rich understory through a mid-canopy of younger trees to the sunlit crowns of the oldest giants. This multi-storied architecture, which develops only over centuries, creates a wide range of microhabitats and supports far more plant and animal life than a younger, simpler forest.
Here's the thing most people miss about a forest this old: it isn't one layer, it's many, stacked floor on floor like a building. Down where you're standing it's a dim, mossy understory of ferns and saplings. Above that runs a middle story of younger trees reaching for the light. And far overhead spread the great old crowns, a sunlit world of their own. Each level keeps its own light, its own air, its own creatures, most of which never visit the others. A young forest is mostly flat. An ancient one like this builds upward in stories, and that vertical depth is exactly what makes it so alive.
Photo: Dog Walking Girl · CC BY-SA 3.0
