Biology
Climate, decay, and the death of the coal forests
Document Type
Article
Abstract
After death, most of the biological carbon in organisms (Corg) is returned to the atmosphere as CO2 through the respiration of decomposers and detritivores or by combustion. However, the balance between these processes is not perfect, and when productivity exceeds decomposition, carbon sequestration results. An unparalleled interval of carbon sequestration in Earth's history occurred during the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian Periods (ca. 323–252 Ma), when arborescent vascular plants related to living club mosses (Lycophytes), ferns (Monilophytes), horsetails (Equisetophytes) and seed plants (Spermatophytes) formed extensive forests in coastal wetlands. On their death, these plants became buried in sediments, where they transformed into peat, lignite, and, finally, coal.
Publication Title
Current Biology
Publication Date
7-11-2016
Volume
26
Issue
13
First Page
R563
Last Page
R567
ISSN
0960-9822
DOI
10.1016/j.cub.2016.01.014
Repository Citation
Hibbett, David; Blanchette, Robert; Kenrick, Paul; and Mills, Benjamin, "Climate, decay, and the death of the coal forests" (2016). Biology. 189.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_biology/189
