 This organic material eventually formed a nutrient rich mat, and trees in the rain forest had developed aerial roots, stemming from their trunks and branches, in order to absorb these nutrients as well.The aerial roots growing into the mats aided the rain forest trees by providing the nourishment that they did not receive from the nutrient poor soil.Nadkarni and her work in the Costa Rican rain forest were featured in the 1988 PBS series, "The Second Voyage of the Mimi", starring a young Ben Affleck.