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Why are dinosaur fossils more commonly found in floodplains and lake beds than in forests?

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Illustration showing various dinosaur species drawn to scale and grouped by geologic era: Late Cretaceous, Early Cretaceous, Jurassic, and Triassic. Dinosaurs range from large species like Brachiosaurus and Tyrannosaurus to smaller ones like Velociraptor and Compsognathus, with a human silhouette included for size comparison. Measurement bars at the bottom indicate 1 meter and 3 feet for scale reference. — dinosaur A selection of dinosaurs grouped by the geologic interval in which they lived.

Dinosaur fossils are more commonly found in floodplains, lake beds, and deltas than in forests because these lowland environments are conducive to the rapid burial necessary for fossilization.1

For an organism to become a fossil, it generally requires two conditions: the possession of hard parts, such as bones, and rapid burial to prevent decomposition and scavenging. In contrast, upland environments and forests are typically characterized by erosion and the rapid decomposition of organic remains, which prevents them from being well-represented in the fossil record.231

While footprints may indicate where dinosaurs lived, their bones are often discovered in lowland areas where they were transported by water after death and subsequently buried by sediment. This process of rapid burial in sedimentary rock is essential for preserving the remains long enough for mineral infusion or permineralization to occur.1234