Composition of continental crust altered by the emergence of land plants

Abstract

The evolution of land plants during the Palaeozoic Era transformed Earth's biosphere. Because the Earth's surface and interior are linked by tectonic processes, the linked evolution of the biosphere and sedimentary rocks should be recorded as a nearcontemporary shift in the composition of the continental crust. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the isotopic signatures of zircon formed at subduction zones where marine sediments are transported into the mantle, thereby recording interactions between surface environments and the deep Earth. Using oxygen and lutetium-hafnium isotopes of magmatic zircon that respectively track surface weathering (time-independent) and radiogenic decay (time-dependent), we find a correlation in the composition of continental crust after 430 Myr ago, which is coeval with the onset of enhanced complexity and stability in sedimentary systems related to the evolution of vascular plants. The expansion of terrestrial vegetation brought channelled sand-bed and meandering rivers, muddy floodplains, and thicker soils, lengthening the duration of weathering before final marine deposition. Collectively, our results suggest that the evolution of vascular plants coupled the degree of weathering and timescales of sediment routing to depositional basins where they were subsequently subducted and melted. The late Palaeozoic isotopic shift of zircon indicates that the greening of the continents was recorded in the deep Earth.

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

“…The data we present here suggest that such a level of global system modernization may have begun somewhat earlier in the Silurian. Similar conclusions are also suggested by the isotopic signatures of zircon formed at subduction zones where marine sediments are transported into the mantle (26), and the Fast Land Occupancy and Reaction Algorithm model (21), which consistently suggests an earlier expansion of land plants with an early peak in potential biomass at around 470 million years (Ma). Moreover, an upsurge in the proportion of mud on land was constrained to the Ordovician-Silurian, further supporting the expansion of vegetation on land (27), although the contribution of embryophytes is not fully understood.…”

An evolutionary history of F12 gene: Emergence, loss, and vulnerability with the environment as a driver

“…[85,88,89] Significantly, geochemical data indicate that these environments were already made up of clay minerals rich in silicates as aluminium silicate minerals (kaolinite among them). [90,91] Interestingly, a nonbiological surface, clay-derived mineral rich in silicates, namely kaolinite, has been the choice for a standard laboratory assay to assess the integrity and functioning of contact system to generate a fibrin clot for decades, namely, the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) assay, despite that it remains unresolved how FXII recognizes materials leading to zymogen contact activation such as particulate matter of air pollution including engine exhaust and smoke. [26,30,34,38,49] Moreover, as reported by Juang et al, [7] soils with very varied concentration of silicates (2% and 45%) activate FXII curtailing blood loss in a mouse tail bleeding model, [7] which is consistent with the FXII-mediated powerful hemostatic and pro-thrombotic activity exhibited by silica microparticles.…”

“…[92,93] And evidence is accumulating on the role that colonization of land by plant -and their bacteria and fungi as their symbionts-during Ordovician period (Figure 2) might have played into the extensive formation and retention of clay minerals rich in silicates and the silica cycle, rendering the Earth's crust a clay mineral factory. [90,91,[94][95][96][97] In fact, the current eartht's continental crust is dominated by silica and has 60.6% SiO 2 [98] together with other abiotic and biotic variable elements (from viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites to hypoxia, low/high CO 2 accumulation and hydration/desiccation among others). [85,89,[99][100][101] Importantly, silica is essential in the generation of phytoliths, silica bodies present in different parts of grasses and plants as thorns which with plants insert pathogen into herbivores as defense mechanism.…”

Revisiting the geomorphological‐biological divide: An introspective biogeomorphological perspective

“…The consideration in marine and terrestrial geology of the role of certain organisms in creating minerals and geological structures at continental scales such as massive limestone deposits and coral reefs has extended geological research to the indirect and direct role of organisms in shaping the Earth's surface over the long term (Benton & Xie, 2014) as well as, recently, in the dynamics of melting in Earth's mantle (Spencer et al, 2022). Since the publication of Viles' foundational volume in 1988, the field of biogeomorphology has made significant progress.…”