Australian scientists from the University of Sydney have developed a theory that links the evolution of the diversity of life on our planet over the last 540 million years to changes in Earth’s landscapes. The study was published in the scientific journal magazine Nature.
Experts have created a computer model that shows climate change and Earth tectonics over half a billion years. They then compared the simulation results with data on land and marine biodiversity over the same period.
Modeling showed that as the amount of sediment rivers carry into the ocean increases, the diversity of marine life increases. As continents slowly erode, water currents deliver large amounts of nutrients, including carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, to the seas and oceans.
Scientists also found that oceanic mass extinction events in Earth history often occurred after significant reductions in sediment flux. This suggests that nutrient deficiencies can destabilize biodiversity and make it more vulnerable to catastrophic events such as asteroid impacts or volcanic eruptions.
Across continents, the simulation found a relationship between sediment and plant diversity. Researchers have suggested that as the Earth’s surface became increasingly covered with thicker, nutrient-rich soil, vegetation may have evolved into species with more complex root systems.
As plants spread across land, the planet developed a variety of environments and habitats with conditions suitable for plant evolution, such as the emergence of flowering plants about 100 million years ago.
Scientists have concluded that the diversity of life on Earth is strongly influenced by the terrain and evolves at the rate of tectonic plate movement. This is incomparably slower than the current rate of extinction associated with human activities.
Biologists before discovered A new global phenomenon that is changing the marine environment.