A study of vegetable fossils in Australian rocks proves it. Ecosystems fought during one of the most extreme warming periods in earth history. It was the final extinction event of the Permian, which 250 million years ago ended 80 percent of the oceanic species. The mass extinction of the plants was about to be total.
It was the worst mass extinction of all time. Only now we know the real impact it had. Fossil plants and rocks of the Sydney basin were examined in eastern Australia. It is a story of several million years of resilience, recovery and long -term effects of climate change.
New forests
The conifers were among the first to colonize the earth immediately after the final Permian catastrophe. But the recovery of flourishing forests was not a path of roses. High temperatures caused the collapse of these surviving conifers. Resistant and shrub plants similar to modern lycopodians appeared. This scorching period lasted about 700,000 years.
Then came a cooling event, the “Smithiano-Spatic event.” Large, but unusual plants, called “ferns with seeds” began to bloom and establish more stable forests. They dominated the landscapes of the earth for millions of years, raiding the way for the lush forests during the “dinosaurs’ era” of the Mesozoic.
The plant species that formed the new forests were completely different. “The term ‘recovery’ can be misleading,” says Dr. Chris Mays, of the University College Cork (UCC) and the main author of the study. “Forests recover over time, but extinction is forever.”
Learning from the past
What is the use of understanding how ancient plant ecosystems resisted extreme climatic changes? It gives us valuable lessons about how modern plants and ecosystems could deal with the current climatic crisis. Ecosystems depend on a fragile balance. Plants are the spine of terrestrial food networks and climate regulation.
The mass extinction of plants for millions of years and resistance tells us about their importance. Plants are anonymous heroes of life on earth, then, now and in the future.
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