Unexpected discovery of a 15-30 million year old ancient forest buried 6 meters underground

The ancient forest was discovered at a depth of nearly 6 meters underground in an area that has not had any large trees for tens of thousands of years, aside from shrubs and other low vegetation.

British archaeologists have announced the discovery of an ancient forest dating back 15 to 30 million years in the Falkland Islands, an overseas territory in the South Atlantic that Argentina also claims sovereignty over and refers to as the Malvinas. This area has not had any large trees for tens of thousands of years, only shrubs and low vegetation.

A panoramic view of the Falkland Islands shows a windy, treeless area – (Photo: Zoë Thomas/Southampton University).

The forest was found at a depth of nearly 6 meters underground, when tree trunks were excavated from the peat layer at a construction site near the capital, Stanley.

Dr. Zoë Thomas, a geophysics lecturer at Southampton University (UK) and the lead author of the study on the Falkland/Malvinas, stated that this discovery is quite unusual because what people know about the islands is that it is a very windy and barren place with no trees growing.

Dr. Thomas and her colleagues went to the site and began collecting the aforementioned large pieces of wood. She noted that the remains of the trees were preserved so well that they looked like driftwood.

The Sanfordiacaulis densifolia trunks are enveloped in over 250 spirally arranged leaves. This unique preservation is the result of earthquakes in a lake system that dates back 352 million years, currently located in New Brunswick, Canada.

The wood pieces and peat samples were transported to a laboratory at the University of New South Wales in Australia for research. Scientists used electron microscopy to reconstruct highly detailed images of the cellular structure of the wood.

15-30 million year old wood, perfectly preserved – (Photo: Zoë Thomas/Southampton University).

According to Dr. Thomas, the presence of tree fossils indicates that this island once had a temperate rainforest, a completely different ecosystem compared to the current environment of the island. The story of this forest even has origins further back than what researchers initially thought.

The trees were too ancient to be dated using carbon dating, a method that can determine the age of organic material up to 50,000 years old. The international team of scientists turned to the pollen grains and tiny spores found in the peat to seek answers.

The pollen records led to the conclusion that the tree trunks and branches date back 15 to 30 million years. This suggests that the climate in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands millions of years ago was wetter and warmer than today.

Michael Donovan, the director of the paleobotany collection at the Field Museum in Chicago (USA), noted that the Falkland/Malvinas Islands are currently all grasslands and lack native trees. The fossilized pollen, spores, and wood in this study painted a very different picture of the ancient environment, providing direct evidence of the presence of cool, moist forests here.

An important site for climate change research

According to the study, the exact reason why trees no longer grow on the Falkland/Malvinas Islands remains unclear, as they still thrive at the same latitude in South America. Both experts believe that the strong wind climate and the acidic peat soil in the area may be contributing factors. These characteristics also make the Falkland/Malvinas Islands an important location for studying climate change in the Southern Hemisphere.

Dr. Thomas further explained that the prevailing westerly winds could influence Antarctic ice, atmospheric circulation, and rainfall patterns, and the islands are one of the few land masses in their path. Understanding how these winds strengthened or weakened in the past, considering the islands’ proximity to Antarctica, could help predict future climate changes.

However, according to Dr. Thomas, these islands are unlikely to see a return of forest landscapes anytime soon. She stated: “Current forecasts indicate that this area will be warmer but also drier, raising concerns about the risk of peatland erosion.”