Antarctica’s Prehistoric Plants

Transcript

From the University of Kansas, this is Research Matters. I'm Brendan Lynch.

Edith Taylor is a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior curator of paleobotany at the University of Kansas. On bone-chilling treks through Antarctica, she hunts fossil plants that thrived there from 240 to 260 million years ago.

Taylor: "At that time there were forests growing in Antarctica. I’ve been particularly interested in what the plants can tell us about past climates there. How warm was the climate there? How were the plants living with 24 hours of darkness in the winter and 24 hours of light in the summer?"

Researchers looking to this deep past have found clues about a warmer future on Earth. For instance, according to Taylor, Antarctic fossil plants show that in the future, some trees may be less suitable as lumber.

Taylor: "Can plants grow at 85 degrees? Well yes they can because we have these forests from Antarctica. One of the most interesting things about the wood is that the wood appears to be very spongy in these plants. So when people say, 'Oh, global warming is great. We’ll just have forests growing further north.' Maybe. But maybe they won’t be as of use to us as they are now."

As high latitude regions turn more temporate, Taylor expects plants from South America to migrate to Antarctica. In another echo of the pas, scientists near the South Pole now detect hazardous levels of ultraviolet radiation.

Taylor: "Plants and animals came on the land about the same time — around 400 million years ago. The belief is that the ozone layer wasn’t well developed before that because there wasn’t quite enough oxygen in the air. And so plants and animals couldn’t move on land because they essentially would be burned by the UV light. There’s also evidence in Antarctica today where there’s this recurring ozone hole in the spring that some of the algae etcetera that live in the seas around Antarctica are showing the effect of UV radiation. What UV does is cause mutations."

For more about Antarctic fossil plants, log on to Research Matters DOT K-U DOT E-D-U. From the University of Kansas, I'm Brendan Lynch.

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Antarctic research earns KU paleobotanist a high honor

LAWRENCE — Edith Taylor’s work takes her on six-week, bone-chilling treks through Antarctica, where she hunts fossil plants that thrived on the continent from 240 million to 260 million years ago.

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