Sky Gardens

High in the canopy of the old-growth temperate rainforests of BC, one can find “sky gardens”: a collection of epiphytes (plants that grow on other plants) growing on the enormous limbs of ancient trees.

These complex, little-understood reservoirs of biodiversity can host creatures found nowhere else on Earth. Researchers have identified more than 1,000 distinct species of invertebrates living in the canopies of old-growth forests. This includes hundreds of species entirely new to science, found in suspended soils that can be over a foot deep, as they develop over centuries through the decomposition of organic matter such as leaves and twigs.

Sprouting from the thick moss mats, you will often see licorice ferns, various shrubs, and even small trees, creating layered ecosystems high above the forest floor.

Other unique inhabitants of the old-growth canopy include marbled murrelets, which are tiny seabirds that nest only on the moss mats of old-growth trees.

Next time you’re walking through an ancient forest, be sure to look up and watch for these gardens in the sky.