In:
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, The Royal Society, Vol. 370, No. 1666 ( 2015-04-19), p. 20140343-
Abstract:
During the 1920s, the botanist W. H. Lang set out to collect and investigate some very unpromising fossils of uncertain affinity, which predated the known geological record of life on land. His discoveries led to a landmark publication in 1937, ‘On the plant-remains from the Downtonian of England and Wales’, in which he revealed a diversity of small fossil organisms of great simplicity that shed light on the nature of the earliest known land plants. These and subsequent discoveries have taken on new relevance as botanists seek to understand the plant genome and the early evolution of fundamental organ systems. Also, our developing knowledge of the composition of early land-based ecosystems and the interactions among their various components is contributing to our understanding of how life on land affects key Earth Systems (e.g. carbon cycle). The emerging paradigm is one of early life on land dominated by microbes, small bryophyte-like organisms and lichens. Collectively called cryptogamic covers, these are comparable with those that dominate certain ecosystems today. This commentary was written to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society .
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0962-8436
,
1471-2970
DOI:
10.1098/rstb.2014.0343
Language:
English
Publisher:
The Royal Society
Publication Date:
2015
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1462620-2
SSG:
12
