种出个地球（2）

我一生大部分时间
I've spent most of my life
都用于探究塑造地球的力量
trying to understand the forces that shaped our planet,
身为地质学家
and as a geologist, it always seemed to me
按说研究岩石才是我的本份
that rocks were right at the heart of things.
伊安·斯图瓦特 教授
但此刻我意识到
But now, I'm discovering
并非只有火山或板块撞击
it's not only volcanoes and colliding continents
才造就了沧海桑田
that have driven the Earth's greatest changes,
因为在地球史的重要时刻
because at crucial moments in its history,
还有另一种力量也在创造我们的家园
another force has helped create the planet we live on...
这便是植物
...plants.
这是地球史上崭新篇章
It's a whole new story about the Earth,
它将向我们揭示 地球诞生之初
revealing how, from its earliest history,
植物如何雕琢我们的世界
plants have shaped our world.
节目至此 我们已经见识到植物及其先祖
So far, we've seen how plants and their ancestors began
如何改造出生命赖以存活的大气
by producing our life-giving atmosphere.
我吸入的氧气
I'm breathing oxygen that
产生于25亿年之前
was made two-and-a-half billion years ago.
绿色植物吸收日光
They'd harnessed light from the sun,
为地球带来能量
bringing energy to the world.
它们滋养出肥沃的土壤
And they'd formed the fertile soil,
使得生命得以统治陆地
allowing life to colonise the land.
下面的节目将引领我们进入更深的领域
But the next chapter will take us even further,
因为 一个植物王国的超级新贵即将登场
because a powerful newcomer to the plant world was on its way.
它将征服地球的每一个角落
It would conquer every corner of the planet.
刻画出地球的每一寸肌肤
It would shape the very surface of the Earth
并且推动动物的进化
and it would drive the evolution of animal life,
包括我们人类的祖先
including our own ancestors.
下面就是它的故事
This is its story.
植物之歌♥
第二集 花的力量
这些建筑已有近千年的历史
These buildings are nearly 1,000 years old.
是世界上最庞大的宗教场所
The largest religious site in the world,
占地达200平方公里
covering 200 square kilometres.
这便是柬埔寨的吴哥窟庙宇
This is the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
我此行旨在见证
I am here to witness the importance
一个人间最神圣的宗教符号♥的意义
of one of the most powerful symbols known to humankind.
那个早期佛教仪式的核心符号♥
A symbol central to an ancient Buddhist ceremony.
花
Flowers.
大家看那里
You see lotus flowers and
布置的莲花和茉莉开得多么美
jasmine just arranged beautifully up there.
较大的莲花
The lotus are the big ones
成串的小花则是茉莉
and the jasmine the trail of little flowers.
看到莲花瓣是如何层叠折在一起了吧
See how the lotus petals are all folded in amongst themselves,
不同的层代表相应的第几重天
the different layers representing the various levels of heaven.
对于这些僧人 花扮演着重要角色
For these monks, flowers have a crucial role.
这只是某一宗教的仪式之一
And this is just one ceremony from one religion.
全世界不同文化中 花都相当重要
Flowers are central to cultures throughout the world.
花深深融入了每个人的生活
They're deeply woven into all our lives.
然而 花不仅只为人类痴迷
But it's not only a human obsession.
因为自从其诞生
Because since they evolved,
开花植物就成为
flowers have been the
地球所有生命的原动力
driving force for the whole of life on Earth.
事实上 开花植物
They've become enmeshed in the lives
与整个动物王国的各个物种都有着千丝万缕的联♥系♥
of virtually the entire animal kingdom in all its rich diversity.
从最小的昆虫到某些大型哺乳动物
From the smallest insect to some of the largest mammals,
都曾被开花植物改造
they've all been shaped by flowers.
这又是如何发生的呢
But how did this happen?
原因又是什么
And why?
开花植物的出现
The emergence of flowers
是地球发展史上一个重要转折点
is one of the biggest turning points in Earth's history.
为了研究开花植物如何改变地球
To understand how they changed our planet,
我们需要重归史前时代
we need to go right back to a prehistoric time...
追溯到第一朵花绽放的时刻
...to the moment when the very first flower appeared.
1.4亿年之前的地球
Up until around 140 million years ago,
与今日有着天壤之别
the Earth was very different.
恐龙统治着整个动物王国
The animal kingdom was dominated by dinosaurs.
大家今天熟知的几块大♥陆♥尚未形成
And the separate continents we know today didn't exist.
相反 只存在一块巨大的整体大♥陆♥ 古泛大♥陆♥
Instead, there had been a single huge continent, Pangaea.
我正前往一个与远古超级大♥陆♥
I'm heading for a place that's about as close as you can get
极为相似的地方
to that ancient supercontinent.
位于距澳大利亚1500公里之遥的南太平洋
It's in the remote South Pacific, 1,500km from Australia.
新喀里多尼亚岛
The island of New Caledonia.
这里仿佛世外桃源 对不对
It looks like Paradise, doesn't it?
新喀里多尼亚之所以引人关注
What makes New Caledonia just so interesting
是因为这里就像是远古植物的诺亚方舟
is that it's like a Noah's Ark of ancient plants.
这次短暂的旅行
This little journey is going
将我们带回至1.4亿年之前
to take us back in time 140 million years.
因为这一地区的与世隔绝
Because this part of the world is so isolated,
能让我们一瞥 花出现之前的植物世界
it gives a glimpse of the plant world before flowers existed.
当时 植物王国有两大统治者
Back then, the plant kingdom had two mighty rulers.
一个是高耸的针叶林
One of them was the tall conifers,
如这种史前巨松
like this prehistoric species of pine.
看看这些树 非常怪异是吧
Look at these trees. Bizarre, aren't they?
树体相当大
They're huge.
南洋杉 库克松
Araucaria, Cook pine,
后者以探险至此的库克船长得名
named after Captain Cook who explored this corner of the world.
松树属于针叶科树种
Pine trees are a family of
针叶科是世界上最古老的物种之一
conifers that are amongst the oldest in the world
在恐龙出没的时代
so when the dinosaurs were around,
它们是真正的"庞然大树"
these were nature's real giants.
花的出现之所以如此具有革命意义
What made flowers so revolutionary
因为此前的远古植物都有其局限性
was the limitations of the ancient plants that came before them.
针叶植物孕育后代
To reproduce, conifers
要依靠变幻莫测的风
like these relied on the vagaries of the wind.
这是花粉 针叶植物的雄性生殖细胞
This is pollen, the male sex cells of conifers.
每粒花粉要放大1000倍才能被肉眼看到
Each grain has to be magnified 1,000 times to really see it.
其两侧各有一个气囊 用来捕捉微风
The two air sacs, one in each side, catch the breeze.
运气好的话 雄性花粉会被
With luck, the male pollen will be blown
吹至附近树上的雌球花
to a female cone on a nearby tree.
要想成功 每株针叶植物都需要大量花粉
But for that to happen, each conifer needs vast amounts.
非常浪费
It's very wasteful.
一棵树就要生产多达100亿粒花粉
Up to 10 billion grains have to be released by a single tree.
当时植物王国另一大统治者是蕨类植物
The other big player back then was the ferns.
它们的繁殖方式同样具有局限性
Their method of reproduction was also restricting.
因为 蕨类植物在湿润环境孕育而生
Because ferns evolved in wet, swampy conditions,
所以要利用水传送生殖细胞
they needed water to transport their sex cells.
它们有一种巧妙的办法
And they use a surprising device.
那就是释放精♥子♥
What they do is they release a sperm,
精♥子♥在水中游动 然后进入附近的植物
which swims through the water and mud to a nearby plant
再使卵子受孕
and fertilises the egg.
显微镜下可以看到它们激烈窜动
Under a microscope, you can see that by thrashing around,
雄性精♥子♥细胞本能地涌入水中
the male sperm cell can propel itself through water.
它们在水中可以游动两小时
It's able to swim for over two hours.
实在是令人赞叹
It's amazing to think that a plant
植物竟然能够排出类似人类精♥子♥的细胞
produces something like a human sperm.
但不利一面是 蕨类植物离不开水生环境
But the downside was that ferns had to live near water.
这是个巨大的局限
It was hugely limiting.
这一切都说明 古泛大♥陆♥上最缺乏的是
All this meant something was lacking in the world of Pangaea...
生物多样性
..Diversity.
蕨类植物种类稀少 针叶树种更加贫乏
There were few species of ferns and even fewer types of conifers.
当时植物物种数量仅为今天的1%
Just 1% of the range of plants we have today.
同样 动物王国也具有局限性
And the animal kingdom was also limited.
科学家已发现700种不同种类恐龙的证据
Scientists have found evidence of 700 different dinosaurs.
听着数目庞大
It sounds a lot,
但今天 仅哺乳类物种就超过5500个
but today there are over 5,500 species of mammals alone.
当时的物种极度缺稀
There was little variety.
世界上只有单调的绿色
It was a monotonous green world.
于是 地球上的生命本可以这样继续繁衍下去
And that's how life on the planet would have continued.
1.4亿年前 古泛大♥陆♥的某个地方
140 million years ago, somewhere in Pangaea,
某一个物种的某一株植物
one plant of one species
偶然间学会了一个新的繁殖本领