In a recent interesting study, the fossil leaves from the remains of a 23 million-year-old forest suggest that some plants might adapt to grow faster as CO2 levels rise around them.
According to a report published in the BBC, these leaves have been recovered from an ancient lake on New Zealand's South Island. It has been mentioned that because of these leaves, the scientists for the first time have been able to link high levels of atmospheric CO2 to the growth of plants.
It has been clearly mentioned in the research that quite a few plants managed to harvest carbon dioxide more efficiently for photosynthesis. The study will also be helpful as it also has documented the shifts in the dynamics of plant life.
The lead author Tammo Reichgelt from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, US, said, “The amazing thing is that these leaves are basically mummified, so we have their original chemical compositions, and can see all their fine features under a microscope.”
The researchers also studied the geometry of the leaves' stomata and other anatomical features, and compared them with those of modern leaves.
In the research, they also shed light on trees that were unusually efficient at absorbing in carbon dioxide through the stomata. Interestingly, the leakage of water through the same route was also comparatively less.
The biological material that they found included fossilised remains of plants, algae, spiders, beetles, flies, fungi and other living things from a warm period known as the early Miocene Epoch. The average temperature is said to be between 3-degree Celsius and 7-degree Celsius higher than the current temperature.
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