Boggy ground at Pacific Rim
One aspect of being in the Pacific temperate rainforest is the boggy ground. Wherever there is flat subdued terrain, there is poor drainage. The vast amount of water that falls on the land can’t be absorbed into the ground fast enough. Added to this is the fact that the soils are podzolic meaning that there is a layer of hardpan that is impenetrable by water. And because the soils are quite acidic, bogs form. The vegetation that grows on these bogs can’t get much air for their roots. Consequently the growth is very poor. Some of the trees you see here are very old, like bonsai. And also like bonsai, the stress of living without much oxygen in the roots creates weirdly shaped trees.