Forests produce more animal and plant biomass—more life—than all the oceans combined, while occupying only one-eighth the area. This program looks at the life of both the temperate and rain forests: how the area of the forest is increased many times by the leaves (conifers are the most productive trees in this respect); the processes of composition and decomposition, increment and excrement; measuring phytomass; the biomass of a typical acre of temperate forest; the role of insects; earthworms, bacteria, and other constituents of the forest’s underground economy; adaptation in the tropical forest; epiphytes, bromeliads, and palms; humus and water storage above the ground; propagation and germination of seeds in the rain forest. (28 minutes)