BIOL108 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Lycopodiopsida, Factor 5, Microphyll

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Biology (Biological Sciences)
• Course: BIOL108
• Professor: Lien Luong

Document Summary

Dead hollow cells of the plants that transport water. Contains lignin which strengthens the hollow cell wall / tissue it allows the plant to grow taller by resisting gravity as it supports the structure = competitive advantage. Modified leaves that bear sporangia (spore-producing organ) Sporangia + sporopollenin (protective polymer) walls make the plants highly resistant to desiccation; terrestrial adaptation: sporophyte dominant in life cycle increases size, complexity and persistence. Not continuously nutritionally dependent on the gametophyte. Quillworts, club mosses , spike mosses (not really mosses) Phylum pterophyta / monilophyta (newer name) ferns, horsetails, whisk ferns they formed forests during the carboniferous ( carbon-bearing ) period (~290-360 mya) Most continents flood by shallow swamps; therefore it was an anaerobic environment (everything was prone to decay) Swamps & their decayed organic matter later covered by marine sediments. Heat & pressure gradually converted peat to coal. Plant tissues consumed enormous amounts of c. Decreased atmospheric co2 by a factor 5 during this period.