Coal Forests

Future Game Aware Stage
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(Don’t know whether this fits in either aware or industrial. I’m new to this. Lmk any questions.)

Coal swamps were created during the palaeozoic in tropical, wet regions and were crucial for the creation of peat during the carboniferous and permian. They most likely were low level, and became marshy and boggy because of rivers which flowed through them. During these times, the amount of plant mass dying was greater than sedimentary material, causing a heavy built up in peat and therefore, coal. These swamps created the large coal reserves that are still mined today. If you don’t know already, coal is the the largest source of electricity in the world. It is formed through dead plant matter, and was crucial for the industrial revolution‐‐

‐‐So, this heads into my main point. Eventually, if thrive gets to the industrial phase, fossil fuels and other forms of energy will become highly important. But there isn’t any land patches that i’m aware of which would help facilitate the creation of peat. There is a obvious solution to this-‐simply, add a new subtype for the wetlands biome, called the “Coal Swamp”, and only replace existing wetlands that fit the criteria for coal swamps, with that after the evolution of trees.

My sources:

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As far as I am aware thus far we only have patches and not specific biomes in the game, so they’re a thing for the future.

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Would this kind of environment still be applicable if Plant-like organisms had evolved different membranes, like Silica or Chitin?

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If it was silica maybe a silicon deposit would form and not a carbon one?

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I mean, chiltin, maybe. It’d alter what the coals made of a tad bit, but i think it’d still be plausible. Silica wouldn’t be able to make coal, though.

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I suppose you could still reach industrial and space on such a silica plant world, it would just be somewhat harder, right?

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Maybe, maybe. Your right it’d be a whole lot harder, but they could use like… water power instead? Dont know much on this subject.

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I mean before switching over to coal people used to cut down massive swathes of forest so maybe the civs on such
planets switch to a charcoal mode of fueling
Though since the trees are also silica while living…
Maybe they use animal products instead idk

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Coal Forest sounds like it would be a possible evolution of a Peatland. Wetlands that can’t flush out decaying material build up peat. This happens in both Marshes and Swamps where the water collects and sits in places without flowing out. Over time, some of these become become acidic and are then called Bogs. If there main source of water is Mineral Rich Groundwater (as opposed to a Lake, stagnant River, or the Tide flowing in but not out for some reason), they are called Fens. Also, they can dry up, retaining their accumulated peat while ceasing to make more or still qualify as a Wetland. I think Peatlands in general need to be represented. Coal Forest could be a size/age related variant of a Peat Swamp.

Also

Coal helps make heat for a Steam Engine. A Water Wheel would not be enough, an Industrial Society needs a Combustion Engine (Steam is External Combustion and Petroleum/Bio Fuel is Internal Combustion).

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Definitely, Peatlands have to be represented… Coal forests being a evolution of peatlands sounds great! I agree on the age part-‐age should matter more than size, since, while bigger coal forests create more peat in general, older ones actually have coal. Maybe it should only evolve into a coal forest, once the first peat is produced?

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Wouldn’t the coal be produced quite likely A LONG TIME after the forest of the type dies down?

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How tall could plants become in Peatlands? Could trees as tall as Giant Sequoias potentially exist in Peatlands?

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I am not sure the soil would allow them to be without sinking into the ground
Though this might be more of a problem to large buildings than to trees

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I think it depends on how deep the water is. As the peat builds up over time, the plants often tend to end up with shallower roots, but I believe it takes a long time to build up. There are Peat Swamp Forests, so a peatland can certainly sometimes support trees for a while at least.

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I presume the larger the overall biomass of the biome, the more coal it’d produce?

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Whoops, I meant peat. That was a typo. Continuing on from your point, the larger the biomass, the more peat it’d produce. I think there’s some sort of mathematical formula to estimate how much peat gets produced the larger the biomass… but i couldn’t find it anywhere, what a shame.

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We will find one by the time when we need to add this sort of biome I hope

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