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The Carboniferous rainforest collapse was caused by a cooler drier climate that initially fragmented, then collapsed the rainforest ecosystem. [2] During most of the rest of Carboniferous times, the coal forests were mainly restricted to refugia in North America (such as the Appalachian and Illinois coal basins) and central Europe.
Coal forms when organic matter builds up in waterlogged, anoxic swamps, known as peat mires, and is then buried, compressing the peat into coal. The majority of Earth's coal deposits were formed during the late Carboniferous and early Permian. The plants from which they formed contributed to changes in the Carboniferous Earth's atmosphere. [25]
Vast deposits of coal originate in former wetlands called coal forests that covered much of the Earth's tropical land areas during the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) and Permian times. [3] [4] Coal is used primarily as a fuel. While coal has been known and used for thousands of years, its usage was limited until the Industrial Revolution.
The Carboniferous period is characterised by the formation of coal deposits which were formed within a context of the removal of atmospheric carbon. In the latest Middle Pennsylvanian (late Moscovian) a cycle of aridification began, coinciding with abrupt faunal changes in marine and terrestrial species. [18]
The belt of Carboniferous coal fields extends into central Europe, [42] and much of this is bituminous coal. Bituminous coal fields are found in Poland [43] and the Czech Republic, [44] and the Polish deposits are one of the most important of that nation's natural resources. [45] The Czech deposits have been exploited since prehistoric times. [44]
The Carboniferous is named after the large coal deposits laid down during the period. It spanned from 359–299 million years ago. During this time, average global temperatures were exceedingly high; the early Carboniferous averaged at about 20 degrees Celsius (but cooled to 10 °C during the Middle Carboniferous). [ 20 ]
Proterogyrinus, a Carboniferous amphibian (non-amniote tetrapod) The Carboniferous spans from 359 million to 299 million years ago. [16] Tropical swamps dominated the Earth, and the large amounts of trees sequestered much of the carbon that became coal deposits (hence the name Carboniferous and the term "coal forest").
The combustion of coal is the largest contributor to the human-made increase of CO 2 in the atmosphere. [56] Electric generation using coal burning produces approximately twice the greenhouse gasses per kilowatt compared to generation using natural gas. [57] Coal mining releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.