Earth's earliest forest unearthed in UK Coastal Fossils

Earth's earliest forest unearthed in UK Coastal Fossils
by Sophie Jenkins
Cambridge UK (SPX) Mar 11, 2024

Researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Cardiff have unearthed fossils in the high sandstone cliffs of South West England's Devon and Somerset coast, revealing the world's oldest known forest, dating back 390 million years. This discovery, consisting of the fossilized remains of Calamophyton trees, pushes back the timeline of Earth's earliest forest by approximately four million years, previously held by a forest found in New York State.

Located near Minehead, on the Bristol Channel's south bank, these fossilized Calamophyton trees initially resemble palm trees but represent an early form of tree life. Unlike modern trees, Calamophyton had thin, hollow trunks and lacked leaves, instead featuring hundreds of twig-like branches. These early trees, reaching heights of two to four meters, played a significant role in shaping the landscape by stabilizing riverbanks and coastlines with the vegetation litter they shed.

The significance of this find extends beyond its age. It challenges previous assumptions about the plant fossil content along this stretch of the English coast and highlights the crucial role early trees played in landscape formation and stabilization. Published in the Journal of the Geological Society, the findings underscore the Devonian Period's importance, a time when life began its significant expansion onto land and ecosystems underwent major transformations.

Professor Neil Davies of Cambridge's Department of Earth Sciences, the study's lead author, emphasizes the Devonian Period's transformative impact on Earth's water-land interactions, largely due to the sediment stabilization by early plants' root systems. This discovery in the Hangman Sandstone Formation, which was geographically separate from the rest of England during the Devonian Period, offers new insights into early forest ecology and sedimentary processes.

Dr. Christopher Berry, co-author from Cardiff's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, expressed excitement at the discovery's proximity and the opportunity it provides to directly study the ecology of Earth's earliest forests. The research, conducted along England's highest sea cliffs, some accessible only by boat, reveals a rich deposit of Devonian plant fossils within the sandstone formation, indicating a semi-arid plain landscape crisscrossed by river channels.

This discovery not only presents a "weird forest" without undergrowth or grass but also illustrates the significant impact of Calamophyton trees on the landscape and river flow. It marks a pivotal moment in Earth's history, where rivers began to operate as major erosive forces, reshaping the landscape in ways previously unseen.

Research Report:Earth's earliest forest: fossilized trees and vegetation-induced sedimentary structures from the Middle Devonian (Eifelian) Hangman Sandstone Formation, Somerset and Devon, SW England