"Uncovering Earth's Oldest Fossil Forest: A 390-Million-Year Mystery"

Researchers have discovered the earliest fossil evidence of ancient forests in the British record, shedding new light on the early evolution of Earth’s land-based biosphere. The findings focus on the Middle Devonian Hangman Sandstone Formation in Southwest England, revealing an ancient forest landscape dominated by cladoxylopsid trees. These trees, with hollow trunks and twig-like structures, played a key role in shaping the earliest ‘modern’ riverbanks and significantly changed Earth’s landscapes and biosphere during the Devonian period, providing compelling evidence of tree-driven changes to physical environments.