Editing Archaeopteris (section)

== Habitat ==
Evidence indicates that ''Archaeopteris'' preferred wet [[soil]]s, growing close to [[river]] systems and in [[floodplain]] woodlands. It would have formed a significant part of the canopy vegetation of early forests. Speaking of the first appearance of ''Archaeopteris'' on the world-scene, Stephen Scheckler, a professor of biology and geological sciences at [[Virginia Tech|Virginia Polytechnic Institute]], says, "When [''Archaeopteris''] appears, it very quickly became the dominant tree all over the Earth. On all of the land areas that were habitable, they all had this tree".<ref name=Nix>{{cite web|last1=Nix|first1=Steve|title=Archaeopteris - The First "True" Tree|url=http://forestry.about.com/cs/ancientforests/a/archaeo_tree.htm|website=Forestry.about.com|access-date=2014-10-05|archive-date=2016-06-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616155916/http://forestry.about.com/cs/ancientforests/a/archaeo_tree.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> One species, ''Archaeopteris notosaria'', has even been reported from within what was then the Antarctic Circle: leaves and fertile structures were identified from the [[Waterloo Farm lagerstätte]] in what is now South Africa.<ref>Anderson, H. M., Hiller, N. and Gess, R. W.(1995). Archaeopteris (Progymnospermopsida) from the Devonian of southern Africa. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 117, 305–320.</ref>

Scheckler believes that ''Archaeopteris'' had a major role in transforming its environment. "Its litter fed the streams and was a major factor in the evolution of freshwater fishes, whose numbers and varieties exploded in that time, and influenced the evolution of other marine ecosystems. It was the first plant to produce an extensive root system, so had a profound impact on soil chemistry. And once these ecosystem changes happened, they were changed for all time. It was a one-time thing."<ref name=Virginia>Virginia Tech, [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/04/990422060147.htm "Earliest Modern Tree Lived 360-345 Million Years Ago," ''ScienceDaily''], 22 April 1999</ref>

Looking roughly like a top-heavy [[Christmas tree]], ''Archaeopteris'' may have played a part in the transformation of Earth's [[climate]] during the Devonian before becoming extinct within a short period of time at the beginning of the Carboniferous period.