The life of the forest. Richness of undergrowth and understorey

[Music] life of the forest richness of undergrowth and understory [Music] foreign Poland lying in the temperate zone is characterized by a transitional climate which favors the occurrence of deciduous and coniferous forests their proper functioning depends on the season's negative winter temperatures and warm and humid summer months the Polish forests especially deciduous ones are characterized by a multi-story structure which can usually be divided into four layers trees one of the finest and most powerful living components of the biosphere are the basic element of every Forest [Music] they form the top forest floor and shape the other layers [Music] the trees have a significant impact on the light reaching the lower floors control their humidity and temperature and affect the nature of forest soils as a result the nature of the lower layers of the forest is very variable in various plant formations and communities in the vertical structure of the forest apart from the crown of trees the lowest layer is also distinguished that is a forest Duff and two intermediate layers undergrowth and understory [Music] in coniferous forests we can also distinguish the mossy layer the vegetation cover of the undergrowth and understory of the temperate zone depends on the type of habitat and more simply on the type of forest in coniferous forests the undergrowth is relatively poor and does not change significantly at different times of the year in deciduous and mixed forests this layer is the lushest and most varied in early spring then the understory is dense and in the undergrowth you can observe the most species of shrubs and herbaceous plants many of them bloom profusely In Summer and Autumn when the forest floor is shaded by tree leaves the nature of this layer changes the interior of dense and dark coniferous forests especially Spruce forests where the ground is poor in acid and the light does not reach much is not propitious to species diversity [Music] the layers of undergrowth and understory are inhabited by many animal species the most frequent here are insects and undoubtedly the most well-known and common ones are ants amphibians and reptiles constitute a large group but unfortunately they are becoming rarer and rarer not only in the forest environment that is why in our country they are fully protected by law there are also many birds and mammals associated with these layers of vegetation which gain food raise their offspring relax and seek shelter here it is the middle of winter it is so quiet in the forest that it seems lifeless however trees shrubs and other plants are living organisms that have lost energy to survive this unfavorable period a lot of plants such as junipers and Heathers covered with a layer of white fluff are in a winter sleep just like some animals others spent winter in the form of seeds bulbs or specially transformed overgrown Roots rhizomes waiting for the moment when in Spring they would be able to grow into an adult plant animals in Winter neither have an easy life traces left in the snow are evidence of their search for food which at this time of year is definitely harder to find Foresters also plant fruit trees and shrubs in the woods to provide animals with more food especially in winter Birds prefer to eat fruit that has remained on bushes and trees or they look for food on the ground others such as the kappaqueli keep their winter diet based on the needles of pine Spruce or fur this Trail has been left by a moose [Music] in Winter it must travel many kilometers to find a suitable feeding ground at this time of year like the kappaqueli it eats shoots and bark of coniferous trees which provides it with high energy food when the sun begins to warm stronger and longer and the winter slowly goes away the forest clearly begins to wake up [Music] at the end of February male inflorescence called katkin appears on the branches of Hazel male catkins hang from branches reaching a few centimeters in length they consist of individual flowers grouped together and they produce copious amounts of pollen female flowers are inconspicuous and end with red tendrils reminiscent of a brush [Music] in spite of the snow still lying in some places and low temperatures the flowering Hazel means the arrival of the early spring long awaited by Nature [Music] stimulated by the warmth of the sun are more active [Music] the forest now resounds with their loud singing [Music] plants that have spent the winter underground are now starting to race to use the light and open the flowers before the trees form leaves solar energy controls the seasons that transform our forests into fairy tale Gardens [Music] in Spring the undergrowth and understory in our deciduous and mixed forests are bound in stunning colors a distinctive feature of forests shedding leaves for winter is a significant seasonal diversity of the undergrowth [Music] it consists mainly of herbaceous plants whereas shrubs and bryophytes play a smaller role [Music] at the turn of February and March in the understory layer in Shady deciduous and mixed forests as well as in thickets the miseryum blooms for the first time [Music] its pink flowers appear even before leaves melliferous meserium is pollinated by the first active insect the same time as the mazarium in places appropriate for them the snowdrops are blooming [Music] they feel best in the shade or partial shade of alluvial forests and in hornbeam and Beach forests they usually grow in hundreds or thousands of individuals there snow drops are often mistaken for spring snowflakes [Music] in appearance they are very similar but they differ in two features of the external structure Leaf color and small perianth leaves snowdrops have uneven parient leaves whereas in Spring snowflakes they are all even with green tips in addition snowdrops have gray green leaves and snowstorm vividly dark green spring snowflakes in Poland occur mainly in the sudeta and carpathians especially abundantly in the bishtade mountains they are rarely found in other areas they usually grow in large clusters sometimes counting several thousands of individuals that can be found in alluvial forests and in acidic moist mid-forest Meadows and clearings Carpathian toothwork is another characteristic plant in the biesta mountains it is a Carpathian subendamite which means that it occurs in a specific geographical zone or close to the main home area in Poland outside the carpathians you can come across it in a few places of the Southeastern part of the lowlands in early spring in deciduous forests mainly Peach forests Carpathian toothworks often form flowering fields it is a typical shade-bearing plant [Music] their stems grow to a height of about 30 centimeters and at the tops in April flowers with purple petals appear foreign [Music] on a March evening in a secluded and quiet place the Kappa Kali male sits on the tree and begins tooting now in the darkness it is hardly visible but you can hear it well it produces a not very loud song consisting of four parts in the morning it flies to the ground and continues tooting you can now admire its ritual Behavior like a ghost it penetrates among the tall bushes of the marsh every now and then it stops spreads its fan-shaped tail sticks out its head and raises its feathers a Kaylee mating rituals depending on the region of Poland and habitat conditions May last until May in Poland there are few cupcakes endangered with Extinction their numbers have been declining for many years the Foresters are engaged in the protection of those beautiful birds so that in the spring their characteristic mating call can still be heard in the woods wood and yellow anemones are an undoubted decoration of spring forests [Music] they form wonderful floral rocks characteristic of deciduous and mixed forests in March and April [Music] Anatomy fruits ripen in May and June wood anemones turn their flowers towards the sun throughout the day above the Hazel leaves move in the same Rhythm pulsing and expanding to a full size [Music] young Hazel leaves form the upper part of the understory layer thereby shading the forest floor against this unique background of the fields of multicolored flowers of undergrowth and understory you can observe various representatives of the forest fauna as early as at the end of March common toads emerge From The Underground hideouts covered with leaves [Music] heavily emaciated they walk awkwardly towards the nearest water reservoirs where they immediately start mating foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] the Hedgehog has also awoken from the winter sleep its body is covered with about 5 000 spines it is a loner who only mates for The Mating Season in search of food it can persistently wander it is rarely seen in the light of day during the night it can make a distance of up to two kilometers hedgehogs are omnivorous although they prefer animal food in the undergrowth layer also reptiles such as snakes and lizards find Excellent living conditions foreign the most common reptile is the grass snake which owes its polish name to the characteristic yellowish patches behind the temples it prefers to stay in Wetlands near lakes and mid-forest ponds it is a great swimmer which allows it to efficiently hunt animals associated with the Aquatic environment a particularly diverse and the largest group of animals in undergrowth and understory are insects [Music] after winter hibernation as soon as the warm air fills their shelter the ants immediately start working they are a symbol of diligence and not without reason [Music] some plants make use of it and employ these insects as Porters transferred seeds have a special ant pack an appendix containing fats and carbohydrates [Music] this encourages insects to cooperate the seed reaches a safe place deep inside the ant hill atricious appendix the seed itself is not attractive to them and has ideal conditions to germinate ants can be found all over Poland and there are over 100 species they are all extremely useful for the forest and can be called great Foresters allies they feed mainly on insects that damage tree leaves another large group of forest insects are arachnids many of them like this flower crab spider live in bright areas most often they can be found on the edge of forests along Forest paths or in clearings they do not build hunting Nets instead they lurk for their victims hidden among the flowers the harvestman spider is easy to recognize by its perfectly elliptical body and extremely long and thin legs female harvestmen are much larger than males foreign the undergrowth and understory layers home to numerous larger mammals here both predatory herbivores and omnivores can easily prey or rest [Music] the most common of these mammals is the wild boar us it eats almost everything carrion plant tubers small animals and in Autumn acorns nuts and Beach nuts that is Beach seeds it looks for shelter in the thicket of shrubs or coniferous young trees wild boars are active in the forest throughout the year foreign gathers momentum and the temperature rises and it gets warm enough and the undergrowth starts to bloom a dignified and intensely scented lily of the valley its white pendant flowers gathered in clusters attached to one side of the stem resemble Bells aromatic nectar attracts many pollinating insects lily of the valley finds the best conditions for development in moderately shaded deciduous and mixed forests where it often forms extensive fields sometimes plants show all their Glory growing individually among other species like here in the field of the sweet scented bed straw also known as the sweet Wood Rough this delicate plant with fragile and bear stems produces numerous shoots growing up to 30 centimeters in height its top is finished with small flowers gathered in canopies thanks to the content of kumarin its smell resembles that of hay it grows in Shady deciduous forests especially in Beach forests when it produces seeds they are carried by animals and people as they attach to hair or clothes with hooks like most spring flowering plants it is poisonous in a similar habitat occurs to lived false lily of the valley common throughout Poland it can also be found in mixed Spruce or other forests this small plant reaching only 20 centimeters is an indicator species of Old Woods it often creates large clusters species of the herbaceous plants in the undergrowth layer which are threatened with Extinction among others because of a diverse climate changes are multiplied by Foresters and Forest operators then they find their suitable habitats and in this way with the help of humans they have a chance to survive in the natural environment when the undergrowth is in full bloom just above it the understory also develops intensively [Music] the guelder rose is now blooming in moist habitats and the bird Cherry in alluvial and other forests [Music] in the wet forests at the beginning of May young cranes are born [Music] in early spring their parents built a nest there [Music] now laid two Olive brown eggs in it [Music] now that the young are strong and stand firmly on their own feet they are leaving the nest [Music] yet for a long time they will be hiding from the dangers lurking among the Lush vegetation in wet and Shady coniferous forests undergrowth and understory are usually poor [Music] the dense tree crowns sunlight is scarce here and the acidic and nutrient poor media means that herbaceous plants are almost absent and Ferns and mosses have taken their place [Music] foreign [Music] forests we observe a multitude of species of mosses and lichens in coniferous forests in dry places the undergrowth can be covered with lichen such forests where the basic Forest forming species as Pine were the understory is extremely scanty and the undergrowth is very poor are called alike and pine forests foreign [Music] owes its polish name to the specificity of its occurrence because it literally grows on Stones soil bark of trees and dead and decaying parts of plants they are unique organisms because they arise from symbiosis of fungus and algae they occur mainly as pioneer species that is those that first inhabit unfavorable and hostile areas the most common in Polish forests include gray and Woodland reindeer lichen which are very easy to distinguish by the color of the talus also horsetails related to Ferns and creeping Cedars appear in the undergrowth of the forest it is impossible not to recognize wood horsetails because their shoots take on a very characteristic shape of delicate small Christmas trees they owe their name to the sounds they made when picked up forests on peat bogs or in swamp forests in wetlands and shady areas grows a marsh Labrador tea [Music] such forests have their specific smell of essential oils from the leaves and shoots of the marsh Labrador tea the strong and characteristic Aroma can even cause dizziness and headaches along with the marsh Labrador tea occur such species as bog Rosemary Heather cranberry and rare especially in Northern Poland cross-leaved Heath [Music] this beautiful shrub has characteristic needle-like leaves with rolled up edges their green color contrasts well with light pink flowers [Music] the smallest plants living in the undergrowth are the thorny bushes of blackberry and raspberry [Music] they often form as such a dense Thicket that it is difficult to get through them without scratches Blackberry is one of the most aggressive of the forest plants its shoots develop at a rapid Pace covering other plants shoots equipped with spikes allow it to climb everything it meets in its path some species of blackberries grow up to two meters in height in the understory grow also larger bushes such as the spindle lilux Hazel as well as the bird Cherry dog Rose and Hawthorne foreign [Music] among the bushes and young trees seeks that shelter the European tree frog which in search of insects can climb to a height of one meter [Music] the orchids have seeds as Tiny as dust pollen which can be carried by the lightest Breeze thanks to this on large areas of the forest we can meet various species of these plants in Sunny spots on Zero thermic Mountain grasslands grows a fly orchid it owes its name to the characteristic structure of flowers they imitate female hymenoptera by their appearance males confuse the fly orchid flower with females and pollinate flowers during pseudo copulation in Poland this is the only such case among orchids intercituous forests mainly Beach forests there is another very rare disappearing in Poland representative of the Orchid family a red helleborine [Music] it can be found in very few spots it prefers fertile soils and belongs to the thermophilic type plants its flowers although they do not produce nectar attract pollinating insects due to their intense color and specific structure after flowering and seeding by orchids Foresters and mow open adjacent areas to prevent the succession of trees and shrubs thus preserving the habitats of these rare beautiful plants in the world of insects found in the undergrowth and understory the largest group of beetles they are of different sizes and various sometimes surprising shapes also their coloration can be fabulously colorful or camouflage most beetles are herbivorous although there are also predatory and omnivorous species many of these insects live in decaying and dead wood all reaches a length of up to six centimeters and is one of the largest beetles in the Polish forests [Music] it occurs mainly in Oak forests where in June adults feed on the juice leaking from the trees [Music] males are equipped with huge ruminants that are used to fight for females [Music] thank you [Music] another large and attractive looking beetle is a rhinoceros beetle [Music] as can be found in deciduous forests but very rarely because its activity increases after dusk during the day it has buried in heaps of rotting plants it is very slow and rarely flies the female rhinoceros beetle lays eggs and decaying stumps of all the deciduous trees and in dead roots the lava is the largest among beetles found in Europe [Music] foreign Bloom does not last long at the end of April trees develop their crowns the time for anemones and other photophyless flowers is over for several weeks of the activity they accumulated so much food that it is enough to produce seeds and new bulbs or rhizomes hidden in the moist soil when the leaves appear on the trees the shade will return to the forest and only a few plants will remain in the undergrowth [Music] in mid-june when spring gives way to Summer many different voices can still be heard in the forest now a Dawn and in the evening melodic concerts of Nightingales and frogs ReSound the chicks are still in some bird nests most often in these species that have several breeding periods each year Robins can have up to five chicks at this time which are fed by both parents until they leave the nest [Music] also blackbirds all day long carry dozens of caught insects and earthworms taken from the ground to the nest full of bright gaping beaks [Music] in early summer large quantities of green leaves full of easily digestible carbohydrates become fertile Meadows where a huge number of creatures graze some plants would do not want to be eaten massively produce poison however it does not deter all the insects among others butterfly caterpillars [Music] summer in Mountain herbs in the free spaces of the dwarf Mountain Pine in the forest clearings but above all in luminous forests a beautifully looming foxcloth is often found [Music] its flowers resemble gaping Jaws that invite insects to collect pollen from them but insects not only make use of the flowers aphids eagerly sucker juices from the Fox Glove and ants live in symbiosis with the aphids they provide protection and peace during feeding to hemeptra and in return they make use of sweet high-energy honeydew excreted by aphids ants literally milk aphids striking with their tentacles on their abdomen so that the insects release drops of the anticipated secretion while strawberries and blueberries begin to bear fruit and undergrowth when summer reaches its fullness such fruitful undergrowth looks very appetizing even a brown bear will not refuse a meal it may only be surprising that the largest domestic predatory mammal is also a great amateur of forest fruit the size and weight of the bear is impressive and awesome an adult male can reach up to 400 kilograms and measure 2.5 meters in length it occurs mainly in the biashtrade mountains tatra mountains and baskets the bear needs huge spaces rich in food and giving the opportunity to hide it is reluctant to leave the forest with its thick and dense understory wolves also occupy large territories where they hunt eat and rest in Poland they occur mainly in forests and individual packs clearly Define their territories in the center of which in the most inaccessible Place arrange their lair the wolf is a predator and in nature it mostly feeds on small animals however when the size of the pack and the availability of large herbivores is adequate it allows itself to hunt larger preys for example deer foreign [Music] already in mid-summer Heathers begin to decorate forests with pink lilac colors these small dwarf shrubs occur in various plant communities such as Pine forests peat bogs as well as on dunes but always where the soil is poor and acidic they feel great in sunny places [Music] Heather is a valued honey plant so beekeepers are eager to put their Apiaries close to the heaths bees flying among small flowers can collect up to 120 kilograms of honey from one hectare covered with Heathers [Music] in Poland almost all over its area Heather is a common plant foreign months it is finally time to rest Autumn begins in the forest despite the fact that the sun can still heat strongly the days become clearly shorter and the nights moist and cool mornings are covered with thick fog and it is raining more and more often most plants have already produced colorful and sugar-rich fruits with seeds hidden inside [Music] now Rowan Blackthorne viburnum and many other shrubs use black and red to attract birds ripe fruits in this way indicate that they can be eaten so that the birds will move their seeds over long distances thank you [Music] many birds then exchange insects for fruit and seeds which are especially important to them because of their easily absorbable sugar [Music] when the Autumn comes to the forest the leaves begin to change into many colors and fall [Music] after some time the trees slowly suspend their activity nature slows down day by day the singing of birds is less Audible and those that remain for the winter begin to accumulate food in the Autumn Jays feed mainly on acorns beet seeds nuts and fruit greedily and in a hurry they collect and transfer them to different places having hidden them in the ground Forest litter or between Roots they often forget about them thus contributing to the spreading of various heavy seeds it can be said that the birds carrying Forest seeds plant a new Forest side by side with Foresters [Music] when wet Autumn winds sweep backwards in the undergrowth fruiting bodies of mushrooms begin to appear in large numbers mushrooms belong to a separate Kingdom of living organisms on the Earth [Music] they produce the smallest spores that resemble seeds to a large extent thank you they are so small that they spread like smoke mushrooms have no stems roots or leaves they cooperate with trees and their roots to get nutrients in return they increase the opportunities for tree roots to collect water this type of coexistence of the tree and fungus is called mycoriza the effective rooting bodies appear for a short time as soon as the spores are fired they collapse and die [Music] some forest mushrooms produce large and tasty fruiting bodies that are eagerly harvested by humans when Little Light reaches the forest the day is becoming short and it gets really cold and the last leaves from the trees and shrubs fall it is a sign that winter is approaching perennial plants fall asleep it will allow them to survive this difficult time the undergrowth and understory are an essential element of the entire Forest in a complex forest ecosystem where every organism plant or animal is important and irreplaceable the lower floors of the forest perform many important functions thanks to the dense root Network the undergrowth and understory plants protect the soil against erosion and by shading it reduce the rate of water evaporation in this way they improve the water relations and climate inside the forest Falling Leaves form a layer of Duff that transforms into humus this in turn improves soil structure and introduces Intuit mineral compounds that are easily absorbed by various plant animal and fungal organisms in the duff can be found the greatest richness of species and countless amounts of organisms practically invisible to the human eye [Music] all organisms that make up these two floors of the forest are of great importance also for the other layers and determine their Mutual function [Music] so while staying in the forest lean over the undergrowth and then gradually look up towards the understory and try to see all the extraordinary features that these two layers of the forest hide [Music]

Channel: Forest Film Studio

Views: 804,665

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Id: XqCPQ6caK3s

Length: 46min 4sec (2764 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 10 2022