What does it do for its ecosystem what makes it important ect. ect. i can’t seem to find this information anywhere! (polypodiaceae more specifically, ferns.)
Posted on November 25, 2010.
What does it do for its ecosystem what makes it important ect. ect. i can’t seem to find this information anywhere! (polypodiaceae more specifically, ferns.)
Good question. Different species of ferns play a variety of ecological roles in different ecosystems – it is impossible to say “Ferns perform such-and-such an ecological function” because there are thousands of fern species, and they play many different roles in many different ecosystems all around the world except in dry or very exposed systems where they cannot live: since their vascular system is under-developed by comparison to more advanced plants, the vast majority of ferns require moist environments in order to live. ***However***, certain things can be said of ferns in general:
Ferns are usually small (most are under 5 feet tall), and they usually don’t tolerate full sunlight well. So, they play an important role in filling in the understory of forests… the “forest floor”. They perform excellent “ecological services” as a ground cover in forests – helping keep the forest floor moist and shaded, therefore providing a place for many animals who need moist conditions to live. Example: ground snails and slugs: the moistness and shade provided by ferns provides an excellent help to these little guys, who dry out quickly!!
Ferns also provide lots of easy to reach food for many animals, from deer to rodents.
They also occupy very damp places in the forest, which most other plants simply can’t do – so they help “fill in” the lower levels of forests, especially in moist and very moist habitats.
Hope this helps!!
Hope i get the 10 points : =)?? I actually had to THINK to answer this question, lol!!