A forest floor that behaves like a bouncy trampoline has scientists baffled in Canada. Source: The Mail Online/Daily Mail
The phenomenon, which is thought to be natural, enables people to bounce on a patch of earth but scientists are struggling to explain why the ground is behaving as it is.
A pair of hikers came across the unusual spot close to a river in a forest in St Jerome, Quebec in Canada.
In a video, one of the men bounces on the earth like it is a trampoline, leading people to question whether the video is a hoax. However, it is thought the phenomenon is natural.
Some experts believe the cause of the springy ground is a build-up of roots, while others think it could be a dense patch of peat moss.
An expert from Kew Gardens told MailOnline: “I have heard that some forestry workers falling from trees in temperate old growth forests have survived thanks to the deep layer of organic matter made of part decomposed leaves, fungal mycelium, other fibrous debris, which can absorb the impact of their fall.”
Scientists are unsure exactly why the patch of earth in Canada is so springy.
Theories include a build-up of roots, a dense patch of peat moss and soil liquefaction.
Kew Gardens said it could be a ‘deep layer of organic matter’ made of decomposed leaves, fungi and debris.
One professor from the University of Cambridge believes the bouncy ground could be explained by a couple of fallen young trees spanning an hollow, and branches and leaves on top making a platform.
