Measuring environmental factors on land

Abstract

It is believed that over 390 million years ago, plant species evolved which colonised land. The main advantage in this was probably the greater availability of the light necessary for photosynthesis. Animals quickly followed, exploiting the vast supply of food offered by this expansion of the World’s vegetation. In many respects, however, land as a habitat was, compared with the sea, inhospitable. Water supply depended on rainfall, and was very variable, as was pH, mineral salt supply and temperature. In many parts of the World, temperatures sometimes fell below freezing point, and in others, rose above 45°C, threatening to denature proteins. Buoyancy provides support in aquatic habitats, but on land not only is this support lacking, but windspeeds can reach over 160 km per hour