A fossilized tree, dating back over 386 million years, has been found at an abandoned quarry in Cairo, New York.
The oldest fossil was discovered by chance in 2009, these extremely rare webs of fossilized roots, some of which are nearly 11 meters (36 ft) wide, mark the spot where some of the first woody trees once stood.
Scientists believe the forest the tree once stood was so vast it originally stretched beyond Pennsylvania.
The discovery in New York is believed to be two or three million years older than what has previously tagged the oldest fossil in the world at Gilboa, also in New York State.
Researchers said the recent findings provide new insight into the evolution of forests, indicating that the Earth’s transition to them began 10 million years before trees started growing from seeds.
What was discovered?
Researchers from Cardiff University, UK, Binghamton University in the US and the New York State Museum began looking at the site in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley over ten years ago.
Since then, they have mapped over 3,000 square meters of the forest and concluded the forest was home to at least two types of trees; Cladoxylopsids and Archaeopteris.
The third type of tree has yet to be identified.
Dr. Chris Berry, a palaeobotanist from Cardiff University and a co-author of the study has explained that the location is the oldest place where you can wander around and map out where the oldest fossil trees once stood in the middle part of the Devonian era.
Researchers say they have also discovered very long, woody roots that transformed the way plants and soils gather water.
They also discovered fish fossils on the surface of the quarry, leading to the conclusion the forest was wiped out by a flood.
Howard Falcon-Lang, an earth scientist from Royal Holloway, London, who was not involved in the study, said he has no doubt these are the oldest fossilized trees found on our planet so far. Although he added that he believes this discovery would someday be surpassed by something older.
Binghamton University Professor William Stein, the study’s lead author, said the team plans to continue looking at the Catskill region and compare their findings with fossil forests around the world.
The study also identified spectacular woody roots that belonged to the Archaeopteris. The roots contained multiple levels of branching and small, short-lived perpendicular feeder roots, which researcher’s credit with transforming the interaction of plants and soils.
How the oldest fossil could help the planet
Dr Berry has noted that studying the site can give us a better understanding of how trees evolved and how they draw down carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
He said:
It is a very ancient forest from the beginnings of the time where the planet was turning green and forests were becoming a normal part of the Earth’s system.
