Modeled physiological mechanisms for observed changes in the late Paleozoic plant fossil record

Richey, Jon D.; Montañez, Isabel P.; White, Joseph D.; DiMichele, William A.; Matthaeus, William J.; Poulsen, Christopher J.; Macarewich, Sophia; Looy, Cindy V.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.110056

Cited by 15 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 114 publications

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“…In line with recent studies focusing on Paleozoic vegetation transitions (White et al, 2020;Richey et al, 2021), the purpose of our study is to better represent past vegetation in Earth system models by emulating "paleo-traits" in the vegetation parameterizations. Our approach involves an atmosphere-vegetation model, which couples stomatal conductance and carbon assimilation, motivated by an ecophysiological model based on angiosperm fossil records.…”

Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modeling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies on past vegetation transitions indicate that differences in transpiration rates also arise from the ratio of carbon over nitrogen (White et al, 2020;Richey et al, 2021). As mentioned earlier, the ORCHIDEE version we used does not explicitly represent the nitrogen cycle, preventing us from considering the additional cost to maintain high leaf photosynthetic capacity with lower leaf hydraulic capacity.…”

Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modeling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The problem has an additional degree of complexity for million-year-old ("deeptime") climates, for which the vegetation physiological traits have been very different from the present. As shown recently for the extinct vegetation of the late Paleozoic, fossil plants provide invaluable information regarding "paleo-traits" that can be in turn included in land surface models (White et al, 2020;Richey et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO2: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

et al. 2021

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Abstract. The Cretaceous evolution of angiosperm leaves towards higher vein densities enables unprecedented leaf stomatal conductance. Still, simulating and quantifying the impact of such change on plant productivity and transpiration in the specific environmental conditions of the Cretaceous remain challenging. Here, we address this issue by combining a paleo proxy-based model with a full atmosphere–vegetation model that couples stomatal conductance to carbon assimilation. Based on the fossil record, we build and evaluate three consistent proto-angiosperm vegetation parameterizations under two end-member scenarios of pCO2 (280 and 1120 ppm) for the mid-Cretaceous: a reduction of leaf hydraulic or photosynthetic capacity and a combination of both, supported by a likely coevolution of stomatal conductance and photosynthetic biochemistry. Our results suggest that decreasing leaf hydraulic and/or photosynthetic capacities always generates a reduction of transpiration that is predominantly the result of plant productivity variations modulated by light, water availability in the soil, atmospheric evaporative demand and pCO2. The high pCO2 acts as a fertilizer on plant productivity that strengthens plant transpiration and water-use efficiency. However, we show that proto-angiosperm physiology does not allow vegetation to grow under low pCO2 because of a positive feedback between leaf stomatal conductance and leaf area index. Our modeling approach stresses the need to better represent paleovegetation physiological traits. It also confirms the hypothesis of a likely evolution of angiosperms from a state of low leaf hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities at high pCO2 to a state of high leaf hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities linked to leaves with more and more veins together with a more efficient biochemistry at low pCO2.

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Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modeling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modeling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO2: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recent studies about Paleozoic vegetation transitions indicate that differences in transpiration rates also arise from the ratio of carbon over nitrogen (White et al, 2020;Richey et al, 2021). As mentioned earlier, the ORCHIDEE version we used does not explicitly represent the nitrogen cycle, preventing us from considering the additional cost to maintain high photosynthetic capacity with lower hydraulic capacity.…”

Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modelling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In line with recent studies focusing on Paleozoic vegetation transitions (White et al, 2020;Richey et al, 2021), the purpose of our study is to better represent past vegetation in earth system models by implementing "paleo-traits" in the vegetation parameterizations. Our approach involves an atmosphere-vegetation model, which couples stomatal conductance and carbon assimilation, with an ecophysiological model based on angiosperm fossil records.…”

Section: What Are the Limitations Of Our Modelling Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO2: a trait-oriented modelling approach

Bres

Sepulchre

Viovy

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. The Cretaceous evolution of angiosperm leaves towards higher vein densities enables unprecedented leaf stomatal conductance. Still, simulating and quantifying the impact of such change on plant productivity and transpiration in the peculiar environmental conditions of the Cretaceous remains challenging. Here, we address this issue by combining a paleo proxy-based model with a fully atmosphere-vegetation model that couples stomatal conductance to carbon assimilation. Based on the fossil record, we build and evaluate three consistent pre-angiosperm vegetation parameterizations under two end-members scenarios of pCO2 (280 ppm and 1120 ppm) for the mid-Cretaceous : a reduction of hydraulic or photosynthetic capacity and a combination of both, supported by a likely coevolution of stomatal conductance and photosynthetic biochemistry. Our results suggest that decreasing hydraulic or/and photosynthetic capacities always generates a reduction of transpiration that is predominantly the result of plant productivity variations, modulated by light, water availability in the soil and atmospheric evaporative demand. The high pCO2 acts as a fertilizer on plant productivity that bolsters plant transpiration and water-use efficiency. However, we show that pre-angiosperm physiology does not allow vegetation to grow under low pCO2 because of a positive feedback between leaf stomatal conductance and leaf area index. Our modelling approach stresses the need to better represent paleovegetation physiological traits. It also confirms the hypothesis of a likely evolution of angiosperms from a stage of low hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities at high pCO2 to a stage of high hydraulic and photosynthetic capacities linked to leaves more and more densely irrigated together with a more efficient biochemistry at low pCO2.

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First report of silicified wood from a late Pennsylvanian intramontane basin in the Pyrenees: systematic affinities and palaeoecological implications

Tosal,

Decombeix,

Meyer‐Berthaud

et al. 2023

Papers in Palaeontology

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The first anatomically preserved wood specimens of an upland Carboniferous flora from the Iberian Peninsula are reported from the Erillcastell Basin (Eastern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain). Two taxa are described, a calamitacean Equisetales (Arthropitys sp.) and a Cordaitales (Dadoxylon sp.). The Arthropitys specimen has fusiform multiseriate rays composed of square parenchyma cells with conspicuous uniseriate or multiseriate simple pits. These pits are located near the transverse walls and occasionally in the tangential walls. The tracheids vary in lumen size, with scalariform‐bordered pits on their radial walls and multiseriate pits in their cross‐field areas. The Dadoxylon specimen commonly has uniseriate fusiform rays. The tracheids are long, with a square shape in transverse section. Their radial walls bear araucarian pitting with a uniseriate to triseriate arrangement. The pits are circular with a spindle‐shaped aperture. Comparison of the Erillcastell specimens with coeval species from Europe indicates that they could belong to new species. The good preservation of the new fossil wood yields significant palaeoenvironmental information. The lack of marked growth rings in both specimens and the presence of tyloses in Dadoxylon suggest that the climate in the intramontane basins of the Pyrenees was slightly seasonal towards the end of the Carboniferous. This contrasts with the marked seasonality of coeval lowland basins. Such upland habitats may have enhanced the survival of plants adapted to humid conditions in a global context of increasing aridity.

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Modeled physiological mechanisms for observed changes in the late Paleozoic plant fossil record

Cited by 15 publications

References 114 publications

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO<sub>2</sub>: a trait-oriented modelling approach

First report of silicified wood from a late Pennsylvanian intramontane basin in the Pyrenees: systematic affinities and palaeoecological implications

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Modeled physiological mechanisms for observed changes in the late Paleozoic plant fossil record

Cited by 15 publications

References 114 publications

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;: a trait-oriented modelling approach

First report of silicified wood from a late Pennsylvanian intramontane basin in the Pyrenees: systematic affinities and palaeoecological implications

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The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub>: a modeling approach emulating paleo-traits

The Cretaceous physiological adaptation of angiosperms to a declining pCO<sub>2</sub>: a trait-oriented modelling approach