Redwood Canopies Hid Sky Ecosystems

In recent decades, explorers found that the tops of giant redwood forests were not the lifeless wastelands scientists once assumed. High in the canopy, they discovered an entire ecosystem with fern mats, soil up to about 1 meter deep, other plants, and even crustaceans that normally need water to survive. The discovery showed that redwood branches can hold enough trapped moisture, decaying matter, and plant life to create miniature worlds far above the forest floor.

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