Author Description

The fields of paleobotany, paleoecology, and evolution all aim to uncover the environment of the past, and how we arrived at the state we are today. Paleobotany uses the fossils of both terrestrial and aquatic plants to study prehistoric environments and the evolution of organisms. Paleobotany is the scientific study of ancient plants, using plant fossils found in sedimentary rocks. These fossils can be impressions or compressions of the plants left on the rock's surface, or "petrified" objects, such as wood, which preserve the original plant material in rocklike form. Still other specimens are found in calcified lumps called coal balls, so named because they are usually found in or near coal deposits. As most organisms decompose rapidly after death, their preservation in nature is a rare event. Most individuals are not represented in the fossil record, and even many species that must have existed have vanished without a trace. As a branch of botany, paleobotany is of importance primarily because the record of fossil plants helps scientists understand the long process of plant evolution. Especially since the 1940's, fossil evidence has helped to explain the origin of major classes of organisms, such as algae and fungi. Paleoecology is the scientific study of past environments. Paleoecologists are interested in the ecosystem as a whole and derive their understanding of past environments from different lines of evidence, including fossil plants and animals, ancient soils and rocks. This field of study is important for anyone interested in past organisms because it provides the context for understanding the origin, extinction and adaptation of any particular organism. A related discipline, palynology, uses fossilized spores and pollen to address similar questions. Paleoecology is more diverse, looking at both plant and animal fossils to try and discover how species evolved and what the environmental conditions were like. There are a number of techniques that are often