A 2018 discovery, made by researchers at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), in partnership with the University of California, in the United States, found 165 trees inside rocks in the municipality of Ortigueira (PR). The study was published in the scientific journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
The analyzes showed that the fossilized forest existed 290 million years ago. According to the researchers, the trees were between four and 18 meters.
Scientist Thammy Mottin, a doctoral student and responsible for the research, considered the finding a surprise, since the team was looking for samples of the rocks.
In a statement, André Luís Spisila, a geologist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil (SGB-CPRM), explained that the finding draws attention not only because of the number of fossilized trunks and their degree of preservation, but also because they are in a life position, which is very rare for continental plants.
The plants found are lycophytes, which do not have flowers, of the genus of trees in the municipality of Paraná, which is 256 kilometers from the capital, Curitiba.
According to Spisila, the life position “indicates that the burial of these lycophytes occurred very quickly and catastrophically. It is a great find that will help us to better understand the paleoecosystems, paleoclimate and paleogeography of the ancient continent”.
He further explained that at the time this forest existed, the Southern Hemisphere was united in a single continent called Gondwana, formed by South America, Australia, Africa, Antarctica and India.
In the same statement, author Thammy Mottin, stressed that “the discovery of the forest is the most important in terms of the quality of preservation and the number of preserved trees, especially after so many years have passed”.
According to her, the position of the trees is something rare, having been recorded in Patagonia, Argentina and Rio Grande do Sul.
In addition to the 165 fossilized trees, another 50 plants were also detected in the subsurface of the rocks, indicating that there are hundreds more of them in the region, Mottin said.
Importance of the findings
At the time when the forest was alive, Ortigueira was bathed by the ancient Panthalassa Ocean.
According to the researcher, “the plants lived in the transition between land and sea, in something similar to what would be a mangrove region. They occupied an often flooded substrate,” she said.
According to the UFPR publication, the coastal region was influenced by fresh water from rivers and salt water from the sea. The doctoral student explains that lycophytes were one of the few plants at the time that could live in flooded areas and in saltwater conditions, so there are few plants associated with this vegetation.
Spisila, who is also president of the Professional Association of Geologists of Paraná (AGEPAR), said the study brings a better understanding of the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems and climates.
“Understanding past events can help us make prediction models for current climate changes, or changes that are yet to come,” he said.
For him, in the world, geological sites have gained more notoriety, not only for academic studies, but also as geotourism sites.
According to him, this serves “for the admiration and understanding of geodiversity and geological heritage”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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