Know about the world's 5 oldest Fossil Forests

Scientists have unearthed remnants of what they believe to be the Earth’s oldest fossil forest on the north coast of Devon and Somerset, UK. They estimate these ancient trees to be around 390 million years old and think they were part of a vast forest that once sprawled across the east coast of the Old Red Sandstone continent, now part of Europe.

This finding places the Somerset forest as 4 to 5 million years older than the previously known oldest forest located in Cairo, New York, USA. The discovery was made by researchers from Cambridge University and later identified at Cardiff University. The fossils include incomplete trunks up to 2 meters long and small branches of cladoxylopsids, a rudimentary type of tree.

Somerset forest older than expected

The discovery highlights differences between the two ecosystems, suggesting forests went from being relatively rudimentary to well-established over just a few million years, said Neil Davies, the lead author of the study published in the Journal of the Geological Society.

Scientists discovered the world's oldest fossilized forest, which is 390 million years old, in southwest England. The fossils are 4 million years older than the previous record holder, a forest in New York state.

Cladoxylopsids were the dominant species in terrestrial ecosystems for about 5 million years until the emergence of modern woody trees around 385 million years ago. The research, published in the Journal of the Geological Society, provides new insights into the evolution of trees and their significant impact on the formation of our current world.

The fossilized trees are located in the Eifelian Hangman Sandstone Formation of Somerset and Devon in England. The trees are palm-like in appearance but would have had thin trunks with hollow centers.

People think that the forest grew as part of an extensive forest that covered the east coast of the Old Red Sandstone continent. The researchers discovered trackways belonging to small Devonian critters among the fossil trees.

World's 5 oldest Fossil Forests

• Devon and Somerset, UK - The recently discovered forest on the north coast of Devon and Somerset is now considered the oldest known fossil forest, dating back about 390 million years. These forests were part of the Old Red Sandstone continent and are older than the previously known oldest forest in Cairo, New York.
• Gilboa Fossil Forest, New York, USA - Before the UK discovery, the Gilboa forest was recognized as the oldest, dating back around 380 million years. It’s famous for its well-preserved tree stumps containing remnants of ancient trees. That is, until they discovered evidence in 2018 of a 385-million-year-old forest in a quarry in nearby Cairo, New York, which they estimated as two to three million years older than Gilboa. In January 2024, news about the Cairo discovery resurfaced as they provided funds for the site to protect the currently restricted area. This marked the initial step in transforming it into an educational site and scientific preserve.

• Cairo, New York, USA - Previously, people considered another ancient forest, located in a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York, as the oldest known fossil forest, estimated to be about 386 million years old.
• Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany - Fossilized forests in this region have provided insights into the Devonian period, showcasing early forms of plant life that existed alongside the earliest land animals.
• Belgium - Similar to the forests found in Germany, the Devonian period forests in Belgium have contributed significantly to our understanding of early terrestrial ecosystems.

Earliest fossil forest discovered, significant

Plants first colonized land 500 million years ago elsewhere in the world, with older trees existing, but this discovery presents the earliest example of a forest where trees grow close together and en masse.

"Why it's important — broadly — is it ticks the boxes of being the oldest fossil forest," Davies, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., told Live Science. The finding is also remarkable because it reveals stark differences between the complex array of ancient plants found at Gilboa and the newly discovered forest, which appears to have hosted just one type of plant, Davies said.

"We've found rocks where you've got standing trees in growth positions adjacent to each other over a set area," Davies said, "so we're looking at a snapshot where we can tell for definite that trees were growing in that specific location and that the sediment we're looking at is the forest floor."

"The researchers found trackways belonging to small Devonian critters among the fossil trees," said Davies. He added, "Currently, you might find lots of little arthropods knocking around on land. There's nothing much bigger than that. Some more amphibian-type things and fish might be present in the nearby lakes and rivers."

While the researchers had initially set out to examine sediments, the fortuitous discovery of fossil trees may reveal a turning point in Devonian plant ecology. "It kind of suggests that around 390 million years ago, there is this sudden takeoff in forest-type environments," Davies said.

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