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What Are the Producers of the Temperate Rainforest?

Rare temperate rain forests receive up to 200 inches of rain per year and are found in coastal regions. The primary producers in these forests are plants. Plants create their own food by utilizing chlorophyll. The food produced makes them grow and contributes to the growth of living things in the life-rich temperate rai forest biome. Vegetation in this biome is dense and complex, and there are many different producers in the layers of life.

Canopy Level Trees
- The top-most layer in the temperate rainforest is known as the canopy. Huge trees called evergreen conifers form the canopy. These tall trees produce cones. Abundant rainfall helps the coastal Redwoods of California to reach 300 feet in height. Other tall canopy trees include Eucalyptus varietes in New Zealand and Siska Spruce, Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Western Hemlock in North America. Some of these trees live over 1,000 years and have trunk diameters of over 100 feet.
Small Trees and Shrubs
- The next layer of temperate rain forest is called the understory. These trees tend to be leafy, deciduous trees that love the shade and shed their leaves in the fall. Dogwood and vine maples are two examples that thrive in this layer. Many of the shrubs in this layer are also deciduous. Wild currants, thimble berries and huckleberries live in the light that manages to cut through the upper canopy. The varied berry plants provide tasty treats for consumers.
Grasses and Flowers
- Grasses and flowering plants are in abundant supply and live on the bottom layer of the temperate forest -- the forest floor. The soil is rich at this lowest layer. Perennial grasses like wheatgrass, rye and bentgrass provide food for grazing forest animals. Common flowering plants, such as wood sorrel are ground cover on the forest floor. Some flowers have adapted by leaving the forest floor in search of sunlight. Epiphytes, such as orchids, flourish on the branches and trunks of forest trees.
Mosses and Ferns
- Dense growths of mosses and ferns give the temperate rain forest a sheen of green. Club mosses drape over trees. Stair step moss, found in America and New Zealand, grows in wide yellow-green patches on tree trunks and the forest floor. Ferns are also common. In the rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, huge sword fern fronds and fiddle heads spike out of clumps in the dim light of on the forest floor. These producers spread through rhizomes and spores. Tree ferns hang from branches in the understory and also grow from nurse logs, fallen trees on the forest floor.

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