A mixed deciduous woodland is made up of five layers. What is the order of layers from the lowest level to the highest level?

A mixed deciduous woodland is made up of five layers. What is the order of layers from the lowest level to the highest level?

• A. Root zone, understory, shrub layer, ground layer, canopy
• B. Root zone, ground layer, shrub layer, understory, canopy
• C. Canopy, shrub layer, understory, root zone, ground layer
• D. Understory, shrub layer, ground layer, canopy, root zone

Answer: (B)

Vertical structure in a mixed deciduous woodland is organized from the ground upward. The root zone lies below the soil surface. Immediately above the soil is the ground layer, which includes herbaceous plants, ferns, and mosses growing on the forest floor. Above that is the shrub layer, made up of woody shrubs that rise above the ground layer. Next is the understory, consisting of shade-tolerant small trees and saplings forming a middle-height layer. At the top is the canopy, the highest layer formed by the crowns of the tallest trees. This arrangement—root zone, ground layer, shrub layer, understory, canopy—reflects the natural vertical order from lowest to highest.

Vertical structure in a mixed deciduous woodland is organized from the ground upward. The root zone lies below the soil surface. Immediately above the soil is the ground layer, which includes herbaceous plants, ferns, and mosses growing on the forest floor. Above that is the shrub layer, made up of woody shrubs that rise above the ground layer. Next is the understory, consisting of shade-tolerant small trees and saplings forming a middle-height layer. At the top is the canopy, the highest layer formed by the crowns of the tallest trees. This arrangement—root zone, ground layer, shrub layer, understory, canopy—reflects the natural vertical order from lowest to highest.