世界上最古老的森林在纽约北部出土的证据

Scientists have unearthed evidence in New York of the world’s oldest forest, dating back nearly 400 million years.

科学家在纽约发现了世界上最古老的森林的证据，可以追溯到近4亿年前。

The fossilized forest, which is 386 million years old, was discovered in a quarry in the upstate town of Cairo, around 33 miles south of Albany, according to a new study.

根据一项新的研究，这片化石森林有3.86亿年的历史，是在奥尔巴尼以南33英里的开罗北部城镇的一个采石场发现的。

The discovery was reported in the latest issue of Current Biology and is believed to be 3 million years older than the previous world record holder, which is located around 25 miles away in Gilboa.

这一发现发表在最新一期的《当代生物学》杂志上，据信比此前的世界纪录保持者还要老300万年。

Researchers said the recent findings provide new insight into the evolution of forests, indicating that the Earth’s transition to them began 10 million years before trees started growing from seeds.

研究人员称，最近的发现为森林的进化提供了新的视角，表明地球向森林的转变早在树木从种子开始生长的1000万年前就开始了。

“We are really getting a handle on the transition of the Earth to a forested planet,” said study co-author Dr. Chris Berry of Cardiff University in the UK.

研究报告的撰写者之一、英国加的夫大学的克里斯·贝里博士说:“我们确实掌握了地球向森林星球转变的过程。”

Researchers believe the forest was home to a wide-ranging network of trees that reproduced using spores, rather than seeds, as well as a rich array of vegetation that was eventually wiped out by a flood.

研究人员认为，这片森林是一个广泛的树木网络的家园，这些树木利用孢子而不是种子繁殖，以及丰富的植被，但最终被洪水冲毁。