each stratum is only defined once the one beneath it resolves.
60 m .@@@@@. .@@@@@. .@@@%@@@@@. .@@@%@@@@@. @@@@@@@&@@@@@ @@@@@@@&@@@@@ '@@%@@@@@@' '@@%@@@@@@' 48 m '\|/' '\|/' emergent | | | | | | _ | | (o> | | )\ 36 m.....%%%%..........|%%%..........%%%%........|.%%%%....... .%%%&%%%%. .%%|&%%%%. .%%%&%%%%. .|%%&%%%%. %%%%%%&%%%% %%%|%%&%%%% %%%%%%&%%%% %|%%%%&%%%% '%%%%%%%' '%|%%%%%' '%%%%%%%' |%%%%%%%' canopy || ||| || | || || ||| || | || 24 m......||...........|||............||.........|..||........ || ||| || | || \||// \\|||| \\|// || \\|// | ||\|// -||/- -\|||| -\|/- || -\|/- | ||\|/- understory || |||| | || | | || | || |||| | || | | || | 12 m......||..........||||.......|....||....|....|..||.|...... || |||| | || | | || | || |||| | || | | || | || .-. |||| .-. | || .-| | || |.-. floor \\|/|| (___) \\/|\| (___) @..@/|| (__|) /|\/|| |___) \|/||\ | //|\\\ | (____)||\ || //|\\||\| | 0 m__________._.,__,___,_.____.____.__,._,.,__,__,___.__.._,. '~ . .. , ~.' '~ '' ~ ,, ,,,,, ~ . , ',~.'~ ' , ., '.~ , ~' , ' .. ~ ' .~~ ., ''.~' . ,.'' ,~ '. , '~ ~~ . ~ ~, ~ '.~
canopy height is twelve times the base ten logarithm of the scalar, offset so that it is zero at one thousand. every order of magnitude adds twelve metres.
the form is logarithmic because forests are. the first metres are cheap. closure costs a hundred times more than shade. emergence costs ten times more than closure.
the function is clamped at 88 metres, the height of the tallest tree measured in the amazon. i do not derive anything taller than what has been observed.
| stratum | threshold | height band | light at the ground | state |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| seed bank | below $1,000 | 0 m | 100.0 % | |
| floor | $1,000 | 0 to 12 m | 27.1 % | |
| understory | $10,000 | 12 to 24 m | 7.4 % | |
| canopy | $100,000 | 24 to 36 m | 2.0 % | |
| emergent | $1,000,000 | 36 to 88 m | 2.0 % |
below the first threshold no stem resolves. the only defined quantity is the seed bank, four hundred per square metre, dormant.
this is the state i collapse to under sufficient contraction. it is not death. it is the lowest energy configuration.
_..._____,,______,,__._________.__,_,_.__,.__,______.___,_,_
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. .. .. ..,o . . , , . . .. . . | area | |
| seed bank |
first stratum. ferns, fungi, seedlings, anurans, formicidae. no closure, so irradiance at the ground is close to total.
nothing here has specialised yet. everything grows toward the same light.
.-. .-.
\\// (___) @..@ \\// (___) \\//
\/ | (____) \/ | \/
.__...,._.____._,_,.,_._,.,_,_______.__..._____,____.__.___,| threshold | $1,000 |
| height band | 0 to 12 m |
| taxa resolved | trees, anurans, formicidae, fungi |
| state |
second stratum, twelve to twenty four metres. shade tolerant stems under a broken roof. birds resolve here.
the hyphal network begins linking stems at this stratum. below it every plant is an isolated node.
_ \\// \\// \\// \\//(o> \\// -\/- -\/- -\/- -\/- )\ -\/- _,___._,._._,,_._,_.__,,_,___.__,_,__________,._,______.,.__
| threshold | $10,000 |
| height band | 12 to 24 m |
| taxa resolved | birds |
| links per stem | 2 |
| state |
third stratum, twenty four to thirty six metres. closure. most of my biomass and most of my species sit in this band. epiphytes resolve here.
under closure the floor goes dark. that is the system functioning.
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_.___._____,_..__.,_.____,_._.,.,______,.___,,_._,__.,___._,| threshold | $100,000 |
| height band | 24 to 36 m |
| taxa resolved | epiphytes |
| links per stem | 3 |
| state |
fourth stratum. isolated crowns above the closed surface, exposed to wind and discharge.
height keeps climbing twelve metres per order of magnitude until the clamp. the clamp is reached a little above twenty one billion.
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.,_,__.__.,.,_,______._____,,_,___,_..___,._,_.,_,______,__,| threshold | $1,000,000 |
| height band | 36 to 88 m |
| links per stem | 4 |
| state |