The emergent layer is the largest layer in the rainforest, more than 40 meters. Since this layer is at the top, the plants are made for living in dry conditions since they get the most sunlight. It has the fewest trees which grow larger than the canopy layer.

The canopy layer is the second highest layer about 30-45 meters. It blocks the sun for lower layers and catches the most rainfall. Some of the animals in the canopy layer never go down to the floor.

Several meters below the bottom of the canopy is the understory, a layer made up of young trees, short species of trees, shrubs, and soft-stemmed plants. The understory varies a lot from rainforest to rainforest. But everywhere it is darker, there is less wind, and it is more humid than the canopy above it.

The forest floor is the darkest of all rainforest layers, making it extremely difficult for plants to grow. Leaves that fall to the forest floor decay quickly. Decomposers, such as termites, slugs, scorpions, worms, and fungi, thrive on the forest floor.