Fossil soils: trace fossils of ecosystems on land and windows on the context of evolution

Abstract

Abstract This is a review of Soil Grown Tall: The Epic Saga of Life from Earth, by Gregory J. Retallack. In this book, Retallack shows how soils and life have coevolved over the last 3.5 billion years, and what soils tell us about the environments in which various terrestrial organisms have evolved and flourished. A theme of the book is the Proserpina Principle: producers consume CO2, consumers exhale it, and alternating dominance of producers and consumers alternates global warming and cooling, while keeping temperature within life-permitting limits.

Keywords

• Ancient life on land
• Ediacaran biota
• Evolution of grassland
• Evolutionary innovations affecting climate
• Fossil soils
• Gaia hypothesis