BIOMECHANICS IN FOSSIL PLANT BIOLOGY

The use of biomechanics for the analysis of the form-function relation ship in palaeobotany is reviewed. Four fields of application of biomec hanics are discussed and illustrated, i.e. the functional analysis of plants and plant organs (examples: lianas, leaf margin types), reconst ruction of fossil plants (growth habit, tree height), functional analy sis of ontogeny (lianas, trees), and evolutionary pathways (evolution of early land plants). The biomechanical analysis of ontogeny and evol ution is of particular interest because it not only reveals the biomec hanical constraints and functional background of these processes, but also yields information concerning the underlying mechanisms. Ontogene tic and phylogenetic changes may resemble a self-organization process constrained by laws of biomechanics.