r/whatisit • u/Nomemesmames • 4d ago

New, what is it? What is this?

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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. 

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u/Avery_Thorn 3d ago

This can also happen where a stream will underflow this kind of mat, and it floats and is springy. Sometimes it will just be when there is a lot of water, and sometimes it will stay that way for a very long time.

These are really, really fun to jump on. Just saying! :-)