Layers of the Native Bush

By Brooke and Haylee –Jayde

Layers of the Native Bush

By Brooke and Haylee-Jayde

Hypothesis• We predict that if we take out the

Understory Layer it will affect all the layers. No future trees will grow because all the saplings are gone and they grow into big trees. Birds will starve because there is less food available. There will be less oxygen too.

The Native BushThere are 5 different layers to the native bush such as, the

Emergent Layer, the Canopy Layer, Sub Canopy Layer, the

Understory Layer and the Forest Floor. The Forest Floor

includes seedlings, saplings , ferns and more. The

Understory Layer is just above the Forest Floor. It includes

trees like the Hinua, Miro, Coprosom and Shrubs. The Sub

Canopy Layer is just before the Canopy Layer. It includes

the Kanuka tree and more. The Canopy Layer is before the

Emergent Layer. It has the Tawa, Hinu and mati trees. The

Emergent Layer is the highest layer in the forest. It gives us

shade. It has lots of trees such has the Rimu, Kahikatea and

the Tortara tree.

Questions and Answers

What creatures live in the understory layer?Ground weta, weta, dragon flies, soil bugs such as mites, land hoppers, spiders, centipedes, springtails, millipedes, slugs and snails.

What food is available in the other layers if we took away the understory layer?Giant centipedes, mites, NZ land snail and the tuatara are available throughout the other layers. There would also be worms, earthworms and ladybirds.

Where would the creatures go if we took away the understory layer ?Most insects would go to the forest floor such as soil bugs and wetas. Birds would go to the Emergent layer, Canopy layer or the Sub Canopy layer.

Conclusion• We predicted that if we took away the understory

layer it would affect all layers. We predicted

correctly. We also predicted that no future trees

would grow because all the saplings are gone. We

predicted right. Also birds will starve because there

is less food. We were wrong, because insects would

go to other layers. Eg; Forest Floor.