What does a canopy layer mean?

Answer 1

An estimated 70-90 percent of life in the rainforest exists in the trees, above the shaded forest floor. Primary tropical rainforest is vertically divided into at least five layers: the overstory, the canopy, the understory, the shrub layer, and the forest floor. Each layer has its own unique plant and animal species interacting with the ecosystem around them. The overstory refers to the crowns of emergent trees which soar 20-100 feet above the rest of the canopy. The canopy is the dense ceiling of closely spaced trees and their branches, while the understory is the term for more widely spaced, smaller tree species and juvenile individuals that form a broken layer below the canopy. The shrub layer is characterized by shrubby species and juvenile trees that grow only 5-20 feet off the forest floor. The forest floor is the ground layer of the forest made up of the trunks of trees, fungus, and low-growing vegetation. These layers are not always distinct and can vary from forest to forest, but serve as a good model of the vegetative and mechanical structures of the forest.

Answer 2

A canopy layer refers to the uppermost layer of branches and leaves formed by tree crowns in a forest. It provides shade and protection for the layers below, such as the understory and forest floor. The canopy layer is important for regulating temperature, humidity, and light levels in the forest ecosystem.

Answer 3

I think, in the several layers of a rain forest, that the canopy layer is like the top layer, near the top of the trees.