Pteridophytes and phanerogamic plants

Question

Why the pteridophytes are better adapted to the dry land as compared to the bryophytes? Were pteridophytes always less abundant rather than the phanerogamic plants?

Answer 1

Though bryophytes and the pteridophytes have water-dependant gametes for the fecundation emergence of conductive vessels in this last group facilitated life within the terrestrial environment. Conductive vessels of pteridophytes gathered the water from moist soil and distribute it to the cells. Bryophytes do not have this option and they depend entirely upon the water that arrives at the aerial part of plant and thus they need to live within the humid or rainy places. Before ascension of phanerogamic plants (plants which have the seeds) the pteridophytes were the plants which predominated within the terrestrial environment. The large pteridophyte forests of the Carboniferous period (which is named after the pteridophytes) are responsible for the formation of coal deposits, majorly in the Asia, Europe, and North America; the Carboniferous period occurred between 290 and 360 million years ago and is the part of Paleozoic era.