4/16/2024 0 Comments Oxygen 8 driver windows 10![]() Well known ‘box’ models for Phanerozoic-scale biogeochemistry, such as GEOCARB 1, 2, 8, 9 and COPSE 10, 11, attempt to represent feedbacks between the plant biosphere and climate. These vegetation-climate interactions vary in concert with local climatic conditions (e.g., temperature, water and light availability), and a change in plant community structure and function can influence climate by controlling the rate of carbon exchange 7. Plants have a significant impact on the carbon cycle by acting both as a sink (via photosynthetic carbon fixation and silicate weathering enhancement) and source (via respiration and pyrogenic carbon from biomass burning) 6. ![]() Vegetation structure and processes couple the atmospheric boundary layer and the land surface, as plants influence the exchange of carbon, energy and water 4, 5. However, Earth system models incorporating these processes are currently unable to adequately reproduce Phanerozoic climate change from these basic principles 1. The extent to which individual biological and tectonic processes contribute towards the overall climate state is debated, and a multitude of processes working simultaneously have been proposed. Over the Phanerozoic Eon, atmospheric CO 2 concentrations have fluctuated due to a combination of tectonic and biotic events, while stabilising processes such as temperature-dependent silicate weathering have prevented runaway climates 3. Similar content being viewed by othersĪtmospheric CO 2 is a key driver of Earth’s long-term temperature 1, 2. We demonstrate that plant geographical range likely exerted a major, under-explored control on long-term climate change. ![]() The Mesozoic dispersion of the continents increases modelled plant geographical range from 65% to > 90%, amplifying global CO 2 removal, consistent with geological data. Model results show lower rates of carbon fixation and up to double the previously predicted atmospheric CO 2 concentration due to a limited plant geographical range over the arid Pangea supercontinent. Here we couple a fast vegetation model (FLORA) to a spatially-resolved long-term climate-biogeochemical model (SCION), to assess links between plant geographical range, the long-term carbon cycle and climate. Simulated vegetation over deep time is often homogenous, and disregards the spatial distribution of plants and the impact of local climatic variables on plant function. Long computation times in vegetation and climate models hamper our ability to evaluate the potentially powerful role of plants on weathering and carbon sequestration over the Phanerozoic Eon. ![]()
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