How long have forests been around

The bark carried a distinctive pattern of diamond-shaped scars from the leaf bases and would have been green, since it was photosynthetically active. The understory of the lycopsid forests was made up of arborescent sphenopsids — tree-like horsetails — like Calamites. The stems of Calamites consisted of a series of segments, similar to modern horsetails, with whorls of branches or needle-like leaves at the nodes between segments.

Calamites were well-adapted to the wet and swampy conditions of the time and, though they were prominent in the first forests, probably didn't compete directly with the lycopsids, growing instead at watersides and in clearings. In addition to reproducing by spores, Calamites could also produce clones from its extensive rhizome network. Tree ferns such as Psaronius were present in Devonian forests but only became common in the Carboniferous. Tree ferns have an apical crown of large fronds bearing spores on their underside; the stem is supported by a mantle of adventitious roots.

Unlike arborescent lycopsids and sphenopsids, tree ferns didn't go extinct and can still be found in some parts of the world today. While the rise of seed plants was still to come, two early seed plants also appear in the forests of the late Carboniferous: Medullosa and Cordaites. Medullosa , a pteridosperm seed fern , looked similar to tree ferns, with an unbranched stem and a crown of large fronds. Cordaites was one of the largest trees of the Carboniferous, reaching 30 meters in height with upwards growing branches sprouting from the stem.

Vast though they were, these early forests would have been entirely unfamiliar to the modern eye. The Carboniferous and Devonian were warm and wet periods rich in carbon dioxide; towards the end of the Carboniferous, the climate became more cool and dry, glaciers spread over southern Gondwana, and the forests collapsed.

Dominated by trees now long extinct, they gave way to gymnosperms in the Permian, with the more familiar conifers coming into their own in the Triassic. The remains of the first forests were buried under the soil and decayed into peat which compressed and heated over time, eventually becoming coal. It saddens me to think that we have burned so quickly through these early forests, the likes of which we will never see again.

But Cairo, with its exquisite preservation, is a notable exception. Though separated by a couple dozen miles and a few million years, Stein thinks the fossils at Cairo and Gilboa were part of the same landscape that once covered the Catskill Mountains—one with distinct arboreal neighborhoods, each home to unique ecosystems of life. Collectively, these forests and others like them went on to reshape the entire planet. Woody trunks sopped carbon from the air, before dying and depositing the molecules underground to fertilize new life.

Roots wrestled into the dirt, altering its chemistry and shuttling carbonic acid toward the sea. Moored by trees, entire landscapes became bolstered against floods and inclement weather.

Drained of carbon dioxide, the atmosphere cooled dramatically, likely helping to plunge the globe into a prolonged period of glaciation. Several branches of the tree of life fizzled out, while other species moved onto land and diversified. In Malaysia and Indonesia, forests are cut down to make way for producing palm oil , which can be found in everything from shampoo to saltines.

In the Amazon, cattle ranching and farms—particularly soy plantations—are key culprits. Loggers, some of them acting illegally , also build roads to access more and more remote forests—which leads to further deforestation. Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl as land is developed for homes. Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Deforestation affects the people and animals where trees are cut, as well as the wider world. That disruption leads to more extreme temperature swings that can be harmful to plants and animals. Yet the effects of deforestation reach much farther. The South American rainforest, for example, influences regional and perhaps even global water cycles, and it's key to the water supply in Brazilian cities and neighboring countries.

The Amazon actually helps furnish water to some of the soy farmers and beef ranchers who are clearing the forest. In terms of climate change, cutting trees both adds carbon dioxide to the air and removes the ability to absorb existing carbon dioxide.

If tropical deforestation were a country, according to the World Resources Institute , it would rank third in carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions, behind China and the U. The numbers are grim, but many conservationists see reasons for hope. A movement is under way to preserve existing forest ecosystems and restore lost tree cover.

Organizations and activists are working to fight illegal mining and logging—National Geographic Explorer Topher White, for example, has come up with a way to use recycled cell phones to monitor for chainsaws. In Tanzania, the residents of Kokota have planted more than 2 million trees on their small island over a decade, aiming to repair previous damage.

The Borneo Lowland Rainforest is about million years old and covers much of the island of Borneo. In the past, the rainforest completely covered the island. The Borneo Lowland Rainforest as well as the whole island has a rich ecosystem. Borneo is home to over 15, species of flowering plants, 3, species of trees, species of terrestrial animals, and species of birds that live on the island full time.

The Borneo Lowland Rainforest is the only place where the Bornean Orangutan, which is only one of two remaining species of Orangutan in the world, can be found in the wild. The Daintree Rainforest is estimated to be about million years old making it the oldest forest in the world. In addition to being the oldest forest, the Daintree is also one of the largest continuous areas of rainforest in Australia — the Daintree Rainforest covers about square miles 1, square kilometers.

There are also over 1, species of insects living in Daintree Rainforest. Additionally, the Daintree Rainforest is a popular tourist attraction and receives about , visitors every year. The Daintree Rainforest is so old that it is home to 12 out of the 19 total primitive flowering plant families found on Earth. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Spread the love. Spread the loveHumans have been making maps for thousands of years and the history of cartography mapmaking can be traced….