World's Oldest Fossilized Forest Discovered in New York

[PPI Brian]

Scientists from Binghamton University and Cardiff University, and New York State Museum researchers, and have reported the discovery of the floor of the world's oldest forest in a cover article in the March 1st issue of Nature.

"It was like discovering the botanical equivalent of dinosaur footprints," said William Stein, associate professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University, and one of the article's authors. "But the most exciting part was finding out just how many different types of footprints there were. The newly uncovered area was preserved in such a way that we were literally able to walk among the trees, noting what kind they were, where they had stood and how big they had grown."

Scientists are now piecing together a view of this ancient site, dating back about 385 million years ago, which could shed new light on the role of modern-day forests and their impact on climate change.

http://www.sciencecodex.com/floor_of_oldest_forest_discovered_in_schoharie_county-87029

http://discovere.binghamton.edu/features/trees-4457.html

http://www.youtube.com/v/mBp3obZkX4o

[PPI Debra]

Fascinating.
Amazing... dating back 385 million years!

[PPI Brian]

Absolutely amazing, isn't it? Plants have been the dominant life form on our planet for nearly a billion years. They literally changed the world with the waste gas they respire. We wouldn't exist without them.