Understory refers to the layer of vegetation that grows beneath the tall trees in a forest or woodland. It consists of smaller plants, shrubs, and young trees that grow in the shade of the canopy formed by the taller trees.
However, some achlorophyllous plants grow in the dark understory of forests, and have abandoned the dependence on the wind for seed dispersal. (sciencedaily.com)
The study, «Response of understory vegetation to salvage logging following a high - severity wildfire,» reports a modest difference between logged and unlogged areas for some shrubs, but researchers with the agency's Pacific Southwest Research Station conclude the diversity of plant species and their abundance, as a whole, differed little between logged and unlogged sites. (sciencedaily.com)
«Overall, deer reduce community diversity, lowering native plant richness and abundance and benefiting certain invasive plants, showing that deer have a pervasive impact on forest understory plant communities across broad swaths of the eastern U.S.,» said Kristine Averill, a research associate in Cornell's Section of Soil and Crop Sciences and lead author of the study. (sciencedaily.com)