Enter the dark, damp world of the rainforest floor, a natural recycling center where insects, animals and microorganisms reduce and reuse minerals and nutrients in order to maintain their ecosystem

Often in movies, books and television shows, the floor of the rainforest is shown as a wild jungle with overgrown trails and gigantic tropical shrubs that require bushwhacking. In truth, there are some rainforest floors that resemble a jungle because they receive an inappropriate amount of light. The floors of most compromised rainforests closely resemble the jungles you see on TV or in movies. However, that's not how rainforest floors were meant to function. 
Typically the floor of the rainforest is dense with vegetation and not easy to navigate. Because the rainforest floor is typically shaded from 98% of the sunlight, the dark, humid atmosphere is not actually ideal for growth. However, it is quite ideal for decomposition.

Like your kitchen's garbage disposal, the rainforest floor is a dropping ground for rotten food and plants. The canopy-dwelling animals will often throw their seeds, peels, and unfinished food items to the ground below. Additionally, many animals, like the sloth for example, climb down from their trees to relieve themselves on the rainforest floor. The floor is also home to fallen branches, dead trees, and rotting leaves.

One animal's garbage is another animal's treasure and there are several large rainforest floor dwelling animals that thrive on the fallen food. Tapirs and Agoutis are both large rodent-like mammals that forage for food on the rainforest floor, picking up scraps and eating leftover remains. These aren't the only creatures to dine in the dump though; thousands of species of bugs and microorganisms live on the rainforest floor, from beetles to cicadas to caterpillars. Not only do these animals make a happy home in the soil of the floor, but they are also an important part of the rainforest ecosystem.

Decomposers, like fungi, insects and other microorganisms, break down the rotting trees, fallen branches and other items on the rainforest floor. Animals recycle the nutrients and minerals from the fallen fruit. All of these nutrients go back into the soil, making it rich and ideal for growth. This rich soil nourishes the trees and plants that grow tall above the floor, and keeps the life cycle within the ecosystem in motion.

When rainforests are deforested through clearing or the rainforest floor is compromised by too much light and too much foliage there is a disruption of the natural cycle of this fundamental system of our environment - one which is responsible for as much as 20% of the oxygen that we breathe. By working to keep the rainforest intact through saving land for protection and spreading the word about Cuipo, we are preserving this delicate environment to keep life on our planet thriving, just like it was meant to be!