By Liliana Usvat
Blog 255 -365
The island of Borneo rose from the sea only fifteen million years ago, and during the Pleistocene, when sea levels dropped as polar ice caps expanded, a land bridge formed to the mainland of Southeast Asia. As a result Borneo was colonized by the ancient forests. Since that distant era, the climate and geology of the island have remained remarkably stable, and this, together with a lack of volcanic activity or typhoons, has left the forests relatively undisturbed for millennia. Until this century, human impact has been slight and largely limited to the shifting fields of swidden agriculturalists who dwelt on the coast and in the broad river valleys of the interior. The forested hinterland has remained, until now, largely unscathed.
The scientists found evidence of a 300-million-year old forest below a coal mine in China. Now, remnants of an even older collection of trees and plants have been uncovered right here in New York. Researchers discovered the floor of a 385 million year old forest — believed to be the world’s oldest — while excavating a quarry upstate near the Gilboa Dam. The fossils and forest floor are so well preserved, scientists can see and study what looks to have been a complex ecosystem of plants, which could shed new light on the role of today’s forests and their impact on climate change.
Blog 255 -365
The island of Borneo rose from the sea only fifteen million years ago, and during the Pleistocene, when sea levels dropped as polar ice caps expanded, a land bridge formed to the mainland of Southeast Asia. As a result Borneo was colonized by the ancient forests. Since that distant era, the climate and geology of the island have remained remarkably stable, and this, together with a lack of volcanic activity or typhoons, has left the forests relatively undisturbed for millennia. Until this century, human impact has been slight and largely limited to the shifting fields of swidden agriculturalists who dwelt on the coast and in the broad river valleys of the interior. The forested hinterland has remained, until now, largely unscathed.
The scientists found evidence of a 300-million-year old forest below a coal mine in China. Now, remnants of an even older collection of trees and plants have been uncovered right here in New York. Researchers discovered the floor of a 385 million year old forest — believed to be the world’s oldest — while excavating a quarry upstate near the Gilboa Dam. The fossils and forest floor are so well preserved, scientists can see and study what looks to have been a complex ecosystem of plants, which could shed new light on the role of today’s forests and their impact on climate change.
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