FIELD NOTES: The Forest Floor
Kuno and Priska Eagleman, the next generation.
Looking closely at any smooth surface on an outside chair or bench, deck and stairway, I see the tiny frass accumulate along with a variety of other more noticeable forest debris. My visiting friends might be surprised when the deck appears somewhat messy, so I explain why I don’ t sweep it off,“ I like to see what’ s there.”
From one day to the next and overnight, the amount of leaves, leaf fragments, tiny stems, premature nuts, and small or large twigs help me recall the dynamics of a living forest and our nature programs at the state park. Helping visitors, school children, and campers understand and appreciate a forest’ s renewal and growth was often a goal on nature walks. Using examples and analogies in our teaching helped define the place and get important points across.
Scanning the treetops, we looked up at the forest’ s ceiling— the underside of a tall woodland roof. It is referred to as the canopy where leafy branch tips occupy nearly all space, and flecks of sunshine show through.
The next layer, the understory, benefits from this intermittent sun and allows smaller trees a precious dose of sunlight as they move and sway during the day.
The following strata is the herbal layer, comprised of small trees soon to occupy the understory, also woody shrubs, ferns, grasses, and flowers.
Continued on 25
~ by Jim Eagleman
For the last few mornings, when I laid out my yoga mat on our back deck, there were more and more little specks of black stuff on the deck boards. They look like tiny bits of dirt, but I know from the time of year, the size, shape, and color that they originate from the leafy canopy overhead. It’ s not dirt, rather it is called FRASS. The tiny pellets are from caterpillars that ate and digested leaves, and rid themselves of body waste. The caterpillars are a protein-rich food source for many songbirds. The frass? We can call it what it actually is— caterpillar poop!
22 Our Brown County • Sept./ Oct. 2019