Earth Science News
EARLY EARTH
Vascular plants colonized land extensively by the early Silurian
file illustration only
Vascular plants colonized land extensively by the early Silurian
by Staff Writers
Beijing, China (SPX) May 01, 2023

The colonization and expansion of plants on land represent a defining landmark for the path of life on Earth. Terrestrial colonization has been attributed to a series of major innovations in plant body plans, anatomy, and biochemistry that transformed global biogeochemical cycles and climates.

It is crucial to identify the onset and track the expansion of those earliest land plants. However, the precise timing of land colonization by vascular plants remains controversial due to the sparseness of early land plant megafossils, poor stratigraphic controls on their distribution, and the uncertainties associated with molecular clock calculations.

Recently, scientists led by Prof. CHEN Daizhao from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics and Prof. FENG Xinbin from the Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) used mercury isotope to prove that vascular plants had already extensively colonized land by the early Silurian (~444 Ma).

Researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden of CAS, the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of CAS, the Chinese Geological Survey, the Open University, UK, and the College of Charleston, USA, were also involved in the study.

Mercury (Hg) is the only heavy metal element that is liquid under natural conditions. It is also transported globally in gaseous elemental form (Hg0) via atmospheric circulation. The most important realization about modern forest Hg cycling in recent decades has been that Hg in vegetation is derived from atmospheric Hg0 assimilation via leaves rather than from precipitation Hg or geologic Hg transport.

Land vegetation preferentially transfers atmospheric Hg0, which displays distinct negative odd mass independent fractionation (odd-MIF, reported as 199Hg) and even-MIF (reported as 200Hg) signatures, into terrestrial ecosystems. As land plants expanded and affected weathering in terrestrial settings, Hg containing these unique negative 199Hg and 200Hg values would be transported to nearshore marine environments, which showed significant positive signatures primally. Therefore, the geologic record of these isotopic systems potentially provides a novel tracer to track the colonization and expansion of plants on land.

In this study, the researchers used Hg stable isotope data from marine sediments spanning the Cambrian to Permian from different depositional facies collected from South China to highlight two episodes of distinct negative excursions in both odd- and even-MIF values at the stage level in the Silurian and Carboniferous.

They established a numerical model to quantify secular variations in the contribution from terrestrial organisms for the Paleozoic. They found that the results pushed back in time the extensive spread of early vascular plants to ~444 Ma in the early Silurian, at least in low-latitude areas like South China-a time period that is significantly earlier than the first known macrofossil of a vascular plant.

The study linked the Paleozoic expansion of terrestrial organisms, notably vascular plants, to the co-evolution of a range of earth systems, particularly those of the atmosphere, oceans, weathering processes, and geochemical features.

Research Report:Mercury isotopes show vascular plants had colonized land extensively by the early Silurian

Related Links
Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Explore The Early Earth at TerraDaily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
EARLY EARTH
How did Earth get its water
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 19, 2023
Our planet's water could have originated from interactions between the hydrogen-rich atmospheres and magma oceans of the planetary embryos that comprised Earth's formative years, according to new work from Carnegie Science's Anat Shahar and UCLA's Edward Young and Hilke Schlichting. Their findings, which could explain the origins of Earth's signature features, are published in Nature. For decades, what researchers knew about planet formation was based primarily on our own Solar System. Although th ... read more

EARLY EARTH
US troops ordered to Mexico border for migrant surge

In Brazil, a damaged city lives on edge of abyss

Death toll from China factory explosion rises to nine: state media

Canada police find bodies of two firefighters after floods

EARLY EARTH
Deep-learning system explores materials' interiors from the outside

Heed the reed: thatcher scientist on mission to revive craft

Researchers 3D print a miniature vacuum pump

Researchers capture first atomic-scale images depicting early stages of particle accelerator film formation

EARLY EARTH
Joint venture announced to build 'underwater space station of the ocean'

'Nightmare': Stinky seaweed smothers French Caribbean beaches

Dead rivers, flaming lakes: India's sewage failure

World should prepare for El Nino, new record temperatures: UN

EARLY EARTH
CryoSat reveals ice loss from glaciers

West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreated far inland, re-advanced since last Ice Age

The future is foggy for Arctic shipping

Meltdown: 2023 looking grim for Swiss glaciers

EARLY EARTH
World's tallest 'hemp hotel' trails South Africa's green credentials

Europe's produce at stake in Spain's water war

Study offers a new view of when and how governments distribute land

Insect farming startup Entoverse launches FarmGPT component

EARLY EARTH
More than 1,000 evacuated as Guatemala volcano erupts

Magnitude 6.3 quake shakes central Japan: weather agency

Over 100 killed in Rwanda floods: state-run broadcaster

Two firefighters missing in Canada flooding

EARLY EARTH
Rwanda counts cost after floods, landslides kill 130

The state of play: six months after Tigray peace deal

258 million needed urgent food aid in 2022: UN

Germany says to pull troops out of Mali by May 2024

EARLY EARTH
Do people and monkeys see colors the same way?

India's new mums live in hope and fear for next generation

'A new history': Brazil's Lula decrees six Indigenous reserves

India to passes China as world's most populous nation: UN

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.