Canopy

At the upper edge of the measured forest, leaf mass becomes an architecture of shade. Eighty-seven percent cover turns sunlight into ordered intervals for every layer below.

Broadleaf distribution / 7 of 10 plots

Canopy band

filtered light register

62%

Understory

Shrubs and young trunks occupy a disciplined half-light. The understory translates canopy decisions into lower, slower growth and stores the forest's next generation.

Shrub density ratio / 6 of 10 transects

Understory band

decomposition ledger

34%

Forest floor

Here the visual field compresses into rectangles of leaf litter, fungi, seed shells, and mineral dust. Biological richness increases as direct light declines.

Fungal survey count / 5 of 10 tiles

Floor band

mycorrhizal exchange map

1.2K

Root network

Below the visible forest, roots and fungi form a dark communications grid. Nutrients move through measured branches, exchanges, and return paths.

Root density / 9 of 10 cubic samples

Root band

water table annual

9.2K

Aquifer

Water leaves the canopy as a charted descent through soil, stone, and root. The aquifer is the final ledger: stored volume feeding tomorrow's forest.

Water table recharge / 4 of 10 strata

Aquifer band