FOR201H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Endemism, Dipterocarpaceae, Herbaceous Plant
Document Summary
Chapter 6 - from the beginning, origins and transformation: Evolution of the tree growth habitat is a recurring element in earth"s history. When closely packed plants have to compete for light, increasing size and strong stems win. Vascular plants first appeared over 430 million years ago. Fossils reveal giant fungi forests 60 million years later. The earliest unambiguous forest records date to 385 million years ago. High atmospheric co2 promoted weathering and the production of mineral carbonates. Increased nutrient inputs, which causes eutrophication of aquatic habitats. Removed carbon from the atmosphere and atmospheric levels dropped. Reverse greenhouse effect lead to severe cooling and the demise of forests during glacial formations. Coal is derived from the extensive tropical swamp forests across the pangea supercontinent. Many plant taxa were able to avoid an extinction, although wooded terrestrial organisms required more than 3 million years to re-establish. Equatorial regions were monsoonal and often dry.
