Learning to live on land: How some early plants overcame an evolutionary hurdle
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 22:14
in Earth & Climate
Diversity of life would be impossible if the ancestors of modern plants had stayed in the water with their green algal cousins. Moving onto dry land required major changes to adapt to this new "hostile" environment, and helped change global climate and atmospheric conditions. By absorbing carbon while making food, and releasing oxygen, early plants shaped ecosystems into a more hospitable environment. New research suggests reasons for incorporating evolutionary/paleontological information into global carbon cycling models.