Any natural complex is heterogeneous in its internal structure. All its elements are at different levels, occupying certain niches. Ecology calls this layering. We will talk more about this phenomenon in the article.
Stage of biocenosis
All animals, plants, microorganisms and fungi that exist in a particular area in water or on land, collectively represent a biocenosis. It is a holistic and dynamic system that has a strict structure. One of the principles of organizing a biocenosis is layering. It manifests itself in the natural arrangement of the elements of nature vertically. In other words, it is the placement of all plants and organisms at certain levels.
Staging is the result of long evolutionary processes. Thanks to her, a large number of different creatures can live on one square meter. If they occupied one niche, they simply would not have enough space and food. By dispersing and adapting to different altitudes, they were able to significantly increase their chances of survival and reduce competition among themselves.
Spatial layering can be terrestrial andunderground. In the first case, it includes all organisms that live on the earth and above its surface. In the second - the inhabitants of various depths of the soil.
Plant layering
In a plant community, each level represents a group of species that have approximately the same height of their organs: stems, leaves, flowers, as well as roots, tubers, rhizomes. There are about five tiers, which, as a rule, are formed by different life forms:
- Wood (sometimes divided into upper and lower).
- Shrub.
- Shrub-herbal.
- Moss-lichen.
Trees represent the highest level. In the forest, they win the fight for sunlight, getting the bulk of it. Birches, oaks, beeches, hornbeams, pines and spruces, as well as sequoias, cedars, palm trees rise above all. Shrubs and dwarf trees are placed below, forming an undergrowth. They are represented by walnut, rowan, apple, etc.
The next level is occupied by herbaceous plants and low shrubs. There can be various berry species, medicinal herbs and flowers. In our forests, this tier is represented by lilies of the valley, crocuses, St. John's wort, lingonberries, blueberries and other species. Under them, as a rule, are a variety of mosses and lichens.
Out of the woods, in open areas, many types of understory can occupy the highest levels, as they do not experience competition from other trees. In deserts and tundras, the highest tier is often represented by shrubs.forms and grasses, sometimes only mosses and lichens.
Animal world
In the animal kingdom, layering is not about the growth of organisms, but about the heights at which they live. Usually allocated:
- Geobia.
- Herpetobia.
- Bryobia.
- Phillobia.
- Aerobia.
Geobia are all inhabitants of the soil. These include both very small animals like worms, wood lice and microorganisms, as well as large earth-burrowing species - mole rats, moles, zokors, ground squirrels, jerboas.
The topsoil and forest floor are inhabited by herpetobia and mosses by bryobia, both of which can include snails, beetles, mites, legless amphibians.
Phyllobia are inhabitants of grasses and shrubs. They are represented by all kinds of invertebrates, arachnids, reptiles, various mammals and birds that nest in the thickets.
The highest tiers are inhabited by aerobia. These include many birds, squirrels, bats, monkeys, various caterpillars and other insects.
Layerness applies not only to land, it also manifests itself in the aquatic environment. Marine and river organisms are divided into surface (plankton), pelagic (salmon, sharks, dolphins, jellyfish), bottom or benthos (mussels, crayfish, crabs, rays, flounders).
Problems in classification
Staging is a very relative concept. It manifests itself in different ways, depending on the characteristics of the area. For example, in humid equatorial forests there are a huge number of species of organisms, therefore, to distinguish them into levelscan be quite difficult.
The easiest way to do this is in the forests, which are created by one type of tree. Layering is especially well traced in oak forests, cedar and birch groves, spruce forests, and forests. But in the meadows, everything is not so clear. There, grasses and mosses can create additional levels, the boundaries between which are also not very noticeable.
In addition, there is the concept of "out-of-tier", due to plants that cannot be ranked on any level. These are creepers, epiphytes and parasites. The first grow in absolutely any direction, and their height depends on the support that will be nearby. If there is a tree nearby, the vine can reach a high tier, if there is no support at all, then it will spread along the ground, being at the lowest level. A similar situation occurs with epiphytes and parasites that live on other plants and are located at different heights.
