Oldest known fossil forest discovered in Somerset, England

Geologists have identified the remains of a 390-million-year-old fossil forest in the Hangman Sandstone Formation of Somerset, England. The discovery pushes back the known age of forest ecosystems by several million years. The forest was dominated by cladoxylopsid trees, early relatives of modern ferns. The researchers identified calibrated stumps still in their original growth positions. This ancient forest provides new insights into how early terrestrial ecosystems influenced atmospheric carbon dioxide levels during the Devonian period.