Although they occur in very different environments, undersea kelp forests share traits with forests on land. In both, plants provide the structure, from sunlit canopy to shady forest floor. And from canopy to forest floor, and everywhere in between, animals and other plants find homes.
Trees mature slowly.
As they grow, their branches and leaves form a canopy that shades the forest floor. And as trees shed leaves and branches, they fall to the forest floor to enrich the soil. In the soil, bacteria, algae, fungi, insects and worms feed on decomposing matter. In kelp forests, plants absorb nutrients directly from sea water rather than roots. And rather than falling to the seafloor, old kelp fronds and plants torn from their holdfasts get washed up on land or swept away into deeper water.