The Understory | The Cove Forest

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SC LIFE / The Cove Forest / 07. The Multilayered Forest

The Canopy | The Cove Forest

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Grades

  • 6
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The Canopy | The Cove Forest
Episode 1
Mature trees in a cove forest are so large and so closely bunched together that the canopy is like a huge tent that shuts out the sunlight. Most photosynthesis (food production) of the forest occurs...
The Shrub Layer | The Cove Forest

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Grades

  • 6
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The Shrub Layer | The Cove Forest
Episode 3
Shrubs are woody plants that have several stems and are generally shorter than trees. In ravines and along creeks, shrubs such as rosebay rhododendron from dense thickets. In other areas, shrubs may...
The Herbaceous Layer | The Cove Forest

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Grades

  • 6
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The Herbaceous Layer | The Cove Forest
Episode 4
Herbaceous plants, or herbs for short, are green plants that have soft rather than woody stems. Most wildflowers and grasses are herbs, as are ferns and mosses.
The Forest Floor | The Cove Forest

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Grades

  • 6
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  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
The Forest Floor | The Cove Forest
Episode 5
The forest floor functions as a wastebasket for all the layers above it. Materials accumulate most rapidly in the fall as the dead leaves of deciduous species fall to the ground. However, a steady...