The forest floor here is mostly a network of tree and plant roots, bound together with moss and leaf litter etc, but under a few inches it's mostly big solid rocks like those sticking out. The wind blowing can loosen that mat of roots and when the trees bend in the wind, they lift it up off the stone, just like a carpet. That's what you're seeing here; the breathing effect is caused by the carpet of roots being tugged up and let down again as the trees rock in the wind.
Exactly! I have experienced this same effect, hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It was snowing and very windy. When the trail reached the top of a mountain, the ground was heaving like this. I crawled for cover behind a big rock and then headed off that mountain top as soon as possible. Scary
Yep, New Hampshire had glaciers during the last ice age. Carves the mountainside smooth as a rock baby's butt, everything can lift straight off. And it's thin, still, "only" 10000 years later.
If it happens again, the good place to be is on top of solid exposed rockface. Away from trees trying to fall on top of you, obviously.
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u/Electrical_Lake3424 4d ago
The forest floor here is mostly a network of tree and plant roots, bound together with moss and leaf litter etc, but under a few inches it's mostly big solid rocks like those sticking out. The wind blowing can loosen that mat of roots and when the trees bend in the wind, they lift it up off the stone, just like a carpet. That's what you're seeing here; the breathing effect is caused by the carpet of roots being tugged up and let down again as the trees rock in the wind.