logo
ResearchBunny Logo
Geographic range of plants drives long-term climate change

Earth Sciences

Geographic range of plants drives long-term climate change

K. Gurung, K. J. Field, et al.

This groundbreaking research by Khushboo Gurung, Katie J. Field, Sarah A. Batterman, Simon W. Poulton, and Benjamin J. W. Mills explores how plant geographic range significantly influences long-term climate change. Discover how limited ranges on the arid Pangaea supercontinent led to higher atmospheric CO2 levels, and how increased continental dispersion enhanced carbon fixation. A fascinating look at the often overlooked role of vegetation in climate dynamics!

00:00
00:00
~3 min • Beginner • English
Abstract
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. 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. 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. Model results show lower rates of carbon fixation and up to double the previously predicted atmospheric CO₂ concentration due to a limited plant geographical range over the arid Pangaea supercontinent. The Mesozoic dispersion of the continents increased model plant geographical range from 65% to >90%, amplifying global CO₂ removal, consistent with geological data. We demonstrate that plant geographical range likely exerted a major, under-explored control on long-term climate change.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Feb 28, 2024
Authors
Khushboo Gurung, Katie J. Field, Sarah A. Batterman, Simon W. Poulton, Benjamin J. W. Mills
Tags
plant geographic range
climate change
carbon fixation
atmospheric CO2
Pangaea
Mesozoic
continental dispersion
Listen, Learn & Level Up
Over 10,000 hours of research content in 25+ fields, available in 12+ languages.
No more digging through PDFs, just hit play and absorb the world's latest research in your language, on your time.
listen to research audio papers with researchbunny