Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Fungi Killed Global Forests 250 Million Years Ago & Could Do Again

Fungi Killed Global Forests 250 Million Years Ago & Could Do Again

A group of fungi Rhizoctonia, that today attack and kill plants, may have been responsible for the demise of the world's forests during the Permian extinction, the largest extinction of life on Earth when the world's continents were part of the supercontinent of Pangea. This was triggered by huge volcanic eruptions throwing vast amounts of gas & dust into the atmosphere causing global climate change. It is suggested that today’s changing climate could lead to increased activity of these pathogenic soil microbes & accelerate the death of trees already stressed by increased temperatures, pollution and drought.



2 comments:

But delicious fried in a little garlic butter ;)

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