Beneath the surface of the North Sea, a long-hidden prehistoric forest has been found, revealing many new possibilities for the environment and climate of ancient Europe. By using sediment collected from ancient sites to collect and analyse ancient DNA (sedaDNA), researchers have shown that there were lush, living forests made up of oak, elm and hazel in a sunken landscape now known as Doggerland, thousands of years before scientists had previously thought possible.
This research suggests that Doggerland was a significant refuge for plants, animals and even early humans during the last Ice Age, and that some parts of this lost environment remained above water longer than researchers anticipated, thus providing more information about how the ecology of the area evolved in the past before all of this eventually became submerged under higher ocean levels. These findings offer invaluable insights into how ancient ecosystems adapted to shifting climates, ultimately enhancing our understanding of prehistoric environmental resilience.
