The record for the world’s oldest preserved forest turns out to be a tie. Both forests are about 300 million years old, and were found half a world apart.
The first, reported in 2007, was discovered in a coal mine located in Illinois. This one is also the largest ever found and is believed to cover an area of about 6 square miles (10 km). It was found more than 100 feet below the surface during mining operations. The remains are a treasure-trove of examples of extinct species, with club mosses which grew to over 40 feet high along with tree ferns, shrubs, and giant horsetails.
The huge size and diversity of the forest is allowing researchers to gain significant insights into the complex make-up of these ancient forests. For more information on the Illinois forest, click here
The second forest, located near Wuda in northern China, was found beneath a coal mine. It is much smaller in size than the Illinois find, but exhibits a wide diversity of plant life. Researchers studied three different sites totaling about 1,000 square meters and found that each site was a bit different than the others in terms of plant composition.
The Wuda forest was buried by a layer of volcanic ash, which preserved not only trunks and branches, but leaves and even pinecones. The Illinois forest apparently fell victim to an earthquake which which caused the area to drop below sea level. The forest was then buried in mud, which preserved the plants.
The fact that the two forests were found in or near coal mines is not too surprising. Both forests flourished during the Carboniferous period, which is when most of the world’s coal deposits were formed.
For more information on the Wuda forest, click here
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