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Mid-Devonian Archaeopteris roots signal revolutionary change in earliest fossil forests

Mid-Devonian Archaeopteris roots signal revolutionary change in earliest fossil forests
Mid-Devonian Archaeopteris roots signal revolutionary change in earliest fossil forests

The origin of trees and forests in the Mid Devonian (393–383 Ma) was a turning point in Earth history, marking permanent changes to terrestrial ecology, geochemical cycles, atmospheric CO 2 levels, and climate. However, how all these factors interrelate remains largely unknown. From a fossil soil (palaeosol) in the Catskill region near Cairo NY, USA, we report evidence of the oldest forest (mid Givetian) yet identified worldwide. Similar to the famous site at Gilboa, NY, we find treefern-like Eospermatopteris (Cladoxylopsida). However, the environment at Cairo appears to have been periodically drier. Along with a single enigmatic root system potentially belonging to a very early rhizomorphic lycopsid, we see spectacularly extensive root systems here assigned to the lignophyte group containing the genus Archaeopteris. This group appears pivotal to the subsequent evolutionary history of forests due to possession of multiple advanced features and likely relationship to subsequently dominant seed plants. Here we show that Archaeopteris had a highly advanced root system essentially comparable to modern seed plants. This suggests a unique ecological role for the group involving greatly expanded energy and resource utilization, with consequent influence on global processes much greater than expected from tree size or rooting depth alone. Using data from a Middle Devonian fossil soil, Stein et al. report root systems from the earliest intact forest to date, including cladoxylopsids, possibly stigmarians and Archaeopteris. Striking seed plant-like features of the latter indicate a special role for this clade in the profound changes in Earth global systems that took place at that time.

0960-9822
421-431.e2
Stein, William E.
26e1caeb-94c9-4c44-9822-c9bc22bb4e8c
Berry, Christopher M.
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Morris, Jennifer L.
5c9404dc-b6f1-4c7e-a13c-50c4c4f322de
Hernick, Linda Vanaller
12c5ff34-18cd-4a88-b90d-20ed6544e58d
Mannolini, Frank
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Ver Straeten, Charles
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Landing, Ed
6136571e-34d8-4156-bbc6-69db3e028519
Marshall, John E.a.
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Wellman, Charles H.
508e1b0c-bb06-4723-bd7c-bd889fa83791
Beerling, David J.
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Leake, Jonathan R.
dc0d8e92-8016-4519-9440-917f699fd2b6
Stein, William E.
26e1caeb-94c9-4c44-9822-c9bc22bb4e8c
Berry, Christopher M.
5d08651a-8782-47da-8d5c-010806586ef9
Morris, Jennifer L.
5c9404dc-b6f1-4c7e-a13c-50c4c4f322de
Hernick, Linda Vanaller
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Mannolini, Frank
cddae877-2b91-4cea-b0ee-e2b7177c412c
Ver Straeten, Charles
c6aac06f-91cc-4e0a-aa3b-595b319e57b8
Landing, Ed
6136571e-34d8-4156-bbc6-69db3e028519
Marshall, John E.a.
cba178e3-91aa-49a2-b2ce-4b8d9d870b06
Wellman, Charles H.
508e1b0c-bb06-4723-bd7c-bd889fa83791
Beerling, David J.
64e2cbe5-b1b3-492b-a12d-28423315175b
Leake, Jonathan R.
dc0d8e92-8016-4519-9440-917f699fd2b6

Stein, William E., Berry, Christopher M., Morris, Jennifer L., Hernick, Linda Vanaller, Mannolini, Frank, Ver Straeten, Charles, Landing, Ed, Marshall, John E.a., Wellman, Charles H., Beerling, David J. and Leake, Jonathan R. (2020) Mid-Devonian Archaeopteris roots signal revolutionary change in earliest fossil forests. Current Biology, 30 (3), 421-431.e2. (doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.11.067).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The origin of trees and forests in the Mid Devonian (393–383 Ma) was a turning point in Earth history, marking permanent changes to terrestrial ecology, geochemical cycles, atmospheric CO 2 levels, and climate. However, how all these factors interrelate remains largely unknown. From a fossil soil (palaeosol) in the Catskill region near Cairo NY, USA, we report evidence of the oldest forest (mid Givetian) yet identified worldwide. Similar to the famous site at Gilboa, NY, we find treefern-like Eospermatopteris (Cladoxylopsida). However, the environment at Cairo appears to have been periodically drier. Along with a single enigmatic root system potentially belonging to a very early rhizomorphic lycopsid, we see spectacularly extensive root systems here assigned to the lignophyte group containing the genus Archaeopteris. This group appears pivotal to the subsequent evolutionary history of forests due to possession of multiple advanced features and likely relationship to subsequently dominant seed plants. Here we show that Archaeopteris had a highly advanced root system essentially comparable to modern seed plants. This suggests a unique ecological role for the group involving greatly expanded energy and resource utilization, with consequent influence on global processes much greater than expected from tree size or rooting depth alone. Using data from a Middle Devonian fossil soil, Stein et al. report root systems from the earliest intact forest to date, including cladoxylopsids, possibly stigmarians and Archaeopteris. Striking seed plant-like features of the latter indicate a special role for this clade in the profound changes in Earth global systems that took place at that time.

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19/12/Stein_Berry_Morris_D_19_01750_R1 - Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 22 November 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 December 2019
Published date: 3 February 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: Drilling costs were met by Natural Environment Research Council (NERC UK) grants NE/J007471/1, NE/J007897/1, and NE/J00815X/1. Authors thank the Town of Cairo, and Town of Cairo Highway Department for granting access and enthusiastic help with their site. Thanks also to Khudadad for assistance in the field. L.V.H. and F.M. were responsible for field collections and specimen sampling. W.E.S. L.V.H. and F.M. constructed the map. W.E.S. C.M.B. J.L.M. C.V.S. E.L. J.E.A.M. C.H.W. D.J.B. and J.R.L contributed to palaeoecological and geological interpretation. J.L.M. J.R.L. and D.J.B. organized and oversaw drilling operations. W.E.S. led writing of the paper with substantial contributions from C.M.B. and J.L.M. The authors declare no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 438383
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/438383
ISSN: 0960-9822
PURE UUID: 2c989890-44cd-48cc-a12a-8269d933ddc6
ORCID for John E.a. Marshall: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9242-3646

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Date deposited: 09 Mar 2020 17:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:22

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Contributors

Author: William E. Stein
Author: Christopher M. Berry
Author: Jennifer L. Morris
Author: Linda Vanaller Hernick
Author: Frank Mannolini
Author: Charles Ver Straeten
Author: Ed Landing
Author: Charles H. Wellman
Author: David J. Beerling
Author: Jonathan R. Leake

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