How plants may have helped create Earth’s unique landscapes
Monday, February 6, 2012 0:05
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id="attachment_3568" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 585px">
class="size-medium wp-image-3568" title="River" src="http://themeridianijournal.com/wp-content/uploads/River-575x431.jpg" alt="" width="575" height="431" />
class="wp-caption-text">Early plants on Earth may have helped create the rivers and fertile soil which later allowed forests and farmlands to thrive. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
style="text-align: justify;">According to conventional thinking, plant life first took hold on Earth after oceans and rivers formed; the soil produced by liquid water breaking down bare rock provided an ideal medium for plants to grow in. It certainly sounds logical, but a
href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=plants-created-earth-landscapel" target="_blank">new study is challenging that view – the theory is that vascular plants, those containing a transport system for water and nutrients, actually created a cycle of glaciation and melting, conditions which led to the formation of rivers and mud which allowed forests and farmland to later develop. In short, they helped actually create the landscapes we see today.
style="text-align: justify;">See
href="http://www.universetoday.com/93269/how-plants-may-have-helped-create-earths-unique-landscapes" target="_blank">Universe Today for the full article.
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