385-million-year-old tree roots stretching 36 feet in New York reveal how life on Earth evolved

Scientists are pointing out the role played by the world’s oldest forests in shaping life on land and transforming Earth’s atmosphere. One such forest is the Cairo Fossil Forest in upstate New York, which was discovered in 2009 and formally announced in 2019. The fossils of the earliest trees with thick trunks and leaves from the time of the Devonian period are present in this forest, which sits in an abandoned quarry near Cairo, New York. Nearly 6 inches thick fossilised roots that form a huge network extending 36 feet have been discovered in this forest. These trees are believed to belong to the extinct genus Archaeopteris, which is linked to modern-day trees. Researchers published the study in the journal Science. “The trees likely belong to Archaeopteris, an extinct group of trees with fern-like leaves that is related to modern trees,” the study authors wrote. Also Read: Humans are a million years old, lived in Asia and belong to 'Dragon Man', Chinese skull analysis shows

According to their analysis, "Archaeopteris trees grew more than 66 feet (20 m) tall toward the end of the Devonian period (419.2 million to 358.9 million years ago)." Scientists say these trees hugely affected the atmosphere. "The first Archaeopteris trees contributed significantly to carbon sequestration, absorbing CO2 and reshaping atmospheric conditions," they wrote. The roots also shaped different formations and substances on Earth, as they "enhanced chemical weathering, breaking rocks into smaller fragments and facilitating the formation of carbonate ions. Over time, these ions contributed to limestone deposition in the oceans."

Cairo Fossil Forest shows these trees are much older

The roots also "locked away carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, shifting the composition of the planet’s atmosphere." These trees also facilitated a process known as weathering in which the roots "jumble and break up rocks, exposing them to air and triggering a chemical reaction that turns CO2 into carbonate ions." The Cairo Fossil Forest revealed that the oldest known Archaeopteris trees were present on the planet 385 million years ago, at least 20 million years before the previous estimates. However, the oldest plant fossils were found in southwest England, which are even older, dating to 390 million years ago. But for Archaeopteris, the Cairo forest is the oldest.