Mitchell R.L., Strullu-Derrien C., Sykes D., Pressel S., Duckett J.G. & Kenrick P.
(2021):
Cryptogamic ground covers as analogues for early terrestrial biospheres: Initiation and evolution of biologically mediated proto-soils,
Geobiology,
19: 292–306
Modern cryptogamic ground covers (CGCs), comprising assemblages of bryophytes (hornworts, liverworts, mosses), fungi, bacteria, lichens and algae, are thought to resemble early divergent terrestrial communities. However, limited in situ plant and other fossils in the rock record, and a lack of CGC-like soils reported in the pre-Silurian sedimentological record, have hindered understanding of the structure, composition and interactions within the earliest CGCs. A key question is how the earliest CGC-like …
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