[TICKING].
[ALARM BELL].
[FIREWORKS].
♪ ♪
CHARLIE: WHAT’S UP GUYS, I’M CHARLIE, KIRBY’S ON CAMERA,
PATRICK’S OVER THERE AND TODAY WE’RE IN A RAIN FOREST,
IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON.
PATRICK: WHAT?
CHARLIE: BELIEVE IT!
CHARLIE: ALRIGHT, SO TODAY WE’RE HANGING OUT IN
HOH RAIN FOREST IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK.
NOW, THERE AREN’T ANY MONKEYS OR TOUCANS HANGIN’ OUT HERE,
BUT IT’S STILL PRETTY LEGIT.
SO YEAH, A RAIN FOREST IN THE UNITED STATES.
IT TOTALLY HAPPENS.
SO THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF RAIN FORESTS
IN THE WORLD.
THERE ARE TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS, WITH THEIR BANANAS,
AND THEIR COLORFUL BUTTERFLIES,
AND THEIR GIRAFFES.
PATRICK: THERE AREN’T ANY GIRAFFES IN RAIN FOREST.
CHARLIE: THERE AREN’T, WHAT?
AND THERE’S ALSO TROPICAL RAIN FOREST’S LESSER KNOWN,
UNDERAPPRECIATED, BUT JUST AS ENCHANTING,
SECOND COUSIN, THE TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST.
OH, PRETTY COOL CHARLIE,
BUT WHAT’S A TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST?
AH, EXCELLENT QUESTION CHARLIE.
WELL, TO FIGURE IT OUT, LET’S TOSS IT OVER TO OUR
BUDDY PAUL ALABACK, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF
FOREST ECOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA,
AND FATHER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN ACCEPTED
DEFINITION OF TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS…
KIRBY: “TEMPERATE RAIN FORESTS…
OVER 1400 MILLIMETERS ANNUAL PRECIPITATION,
COOL SUMMERS STEMMING FROM AN EQUABLE YEAR-ROUND CLIMATE,
MEAN ANNUAL TEMPERATURE BETWEEN 4 AND 12 DEGREES CELSIUS,
AND INFREQUENT FIRE EXCEPT IN THE REDWOOD FOG BELT.”
CHARLIE: SO BASICALLY WHAT PROFESSOR PAUL IS SAYING IS,
THAT IF YOU HAVE A FOREST, A TON OF RAIN,
AND A COOL SUMMER YEAR AFTER YEAR,
THEN YOU MIGHT JUST HAVE YOURSELF A NICE
TEMPERATE RAIN FOREST.
AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT WE HAVE HERE,
IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK.
A FOREST, RAIN, COOL TEMPS, AND CONSISTENCY.
‘CAUSE IT’S ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCY.
AND AS FAR AS THESE FORESTS GO,
THIS ONE IS DEFINITELY TOP DOG BECAUSE THERES
MORE BIOMASS HERE, IN HOH RAIN FOREST,
IN OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK,
THAN THERE IS ANYWHERE ELSE!
BIOMASS IS A TERM THAT SCIENTISTS USE TO HELP THEM
QUANTIFY HOW MUCH LIVING STUFF IS IN AN AREA,
AND THERE ARE A WHOLE BUNCH OF DIFFERENT WAYS
THAT YOU CAN CALCULATE IT.
YOU CAN DO IT BY JUST ADDING UP THE LIVING THINGS
IN AN AREA, THE LIVING THINGS PLUS THE DEAD STUFF THAT
USED TO BE ALIVE, YOU CAN LOOK AT ONE SPECIES
OR ALL ORGANICALLY BOUND CARBON.
BUT USUALLY YOU JUST ADD UP ALL OF THE PLANTS, ANIMALS,
AND TINY MICROORGANISMS IN AN AREA.
WE’VE TRAVELED TO ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF FORESTS.
UNDERWATER FORESTS, OUT OF WATER FORESTS,
FORESTS THAT DIDN’T REALLY HAVE TOO MUCH GOING ON,
AND FORESTS THAT WERE BUMPIN’ WITH ALL SORTS
OF NATURE STUFF, BUT AS FAR AS ANYONE KNOWS,
THERE IS NO OTHER FOREST OR PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD
THAT HAS MORE LIVING STUFF PER ACRE THAN THIS PLACE.
RIGHT HERE, HOH RAIN FOREST.
IT’S PRETTY NUTS BECAUSE THERE’S REALLY
SO MUCH TO SEE HERE.
MASSIVE FIR AND SPRUCE TREES JUT UP THROUGH THE CARPET
OF WILDFLOWERS AND FERNS THAT COVER THE FOREST FLOOR.
EVERYTHING ON THE GROUND IS SURROUNDED BY OXALIS AND
SALMONBERRY, MAKING THIS PLACE LOOK LIKE A
GOSH DARN STORY BOOK.
FALLEN LOGS, CALLED NURSE LOGS,
ARE LYING ALL OVER THE PLACE, SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION
OF UNDERSTORY DWELLERS, AND ALMOST EVERYTHING
YOU SEE IS COVERED IN A THICK FLUFFY LAYER OF
THIS STUFF CALLED CLUB MOSS.
IMAGINE THE MOST MAGICAL ENCHANTED
FAIRY WOODLAND POSSIBLE.
WELL, WE FOUND IT ‘CAUSE IT’S RIGHT HERE,
IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON.
WHO WOULD’VE THOUGHT?
THERE’S AT LEAST THREE TIMES AS MUCH BIOMASS HERE IN
HOH RAIN FOREST THAN IN ANY TROPICAL RAIN FOREST, ANYWHERE.
THAT’S CRAZY!
THAT’S LIKE JAMMING 3 TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS INTO 1.
A TRIPLE TROPICAL RAIN FOREST, WHOA.
SO OBVIOUSLY HAD TO GET BETTER LOOK.
SO WE GRABBED OUR GEAR EARLY ONE MORNING AND SET OUT
TO FIND THE MOST MAGICAL TREE IN THE WHOLE FOREST.
KIRBY: HEY CHARLIE.
CHARLIE: MORNING!
KIRBY: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY?
CHARLIE: IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN HOH RAIN FOREST,
WE’RE GONNA GO CLIMB A TREE, IN THE RAIN FOREST.
PATRICK’S OVER HERE, GETTING HIS GLIDE CAM READY,
AND WE’RE SET TO GO!
THIS IS THE ONE!
♪ ♪
♪ ♪
HOW YA DOIN’?
PATRICK: DOING SO GOOD.
CHARLIE: DOING SO GOOD?
PATRICK: YEAH, THIS IS AMAZING.
CHARLIE: DID YOU ENJOY YOUR CLIMB?
PATRICK: YEAH I DID, IT WAS PRETTY EASY.
♪ ♪
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[FIREWORKS]
