Ancient Roots: The Hidden World of Deep-Time Forests Reveals a Secret of Global Change

As seen from its buried soil, the Earth’s oldest forest was diverse and grew on a periodically dry substrate, a new study shows. The sophisticated roots in this forest are reminiscent of modern seed plants, but come from Archaeopteris and, thus, predate the impact of seed-plant rooting on global forestation. As seen from its buried soil, the Earth’s oldest forest was diverse and grew on a periodically dry substrate, a new study shows. The sophisticated roots in this forest are reminiscent of modern seed plants, but come from Archaeopteris and, thus, predate the impact of seed-plant rooting on global forestation.