Alisporites tenuicorpus the pollen grain used in this work. Note a human hair is approximately 70m so the samples analyzed are about half the width of a human hair.
Credit: Prof Liu Feng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
Scientists from the University of Nottingham, China, Germany and the U.K. led by Professor Liu Feng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology have developed a new method to detect plant's sunscreen-like compounds in fossil pollen grains. The research has been published today in Science Advances.
The end-Permian mass extinction event (250 million years ago) is the most severe of the big five mass extinction events with the loss of ~80% of marine and terrestrial species. This catastrophic loss of biodiversity was a response to a palaeoclimate emergency triggered by the emplacement of a continental-scale volcanic eruption that covers much of modern-day Siberia.
The volcanic activity drove the release of massive amounts of carbon that had been locked up in Earth's interior into the atmosphere, generating large-scale greenhouse warming. Accompanying this global warming event was a collapse in the Earth's ozone layer. Support for this theory comes from the abundant occurrence of malformed spores and pollen grains that testify to an influx of mutagenic UV irradiation.
Professor Barry Lomax from the University of Nottingham explains "Plants require sunlight for photosynthesis but need to protect themselves and particularly their pollen against the harmful effects of UV-B radiation. To do so, plants load the outer walls of pollen grains with compounds that function like sunscreen to protect the vulnerable cells to ensure successful reproduction."
Credit: Prof Liu Feng from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology
Professor Liu Feng adds: "We have developed a method to detect these phenolic compounds in fossil pollen grains recovered from Tibet, and detected much higher concentrations in those grains that were produced during the mass extinction and peak phase of volcanic activity."
Elevated UV-B levels can have even further-reaching and longer-lasting impacts on the entire Earth System. Recent modeling studies have demonstrated that elevated UV-B stress reduces plant biomass and terrestrial carbon storage, which would exacerbate global warming. The increased concentration of phenolic compounds also makes plant tissue less easily digestible, making a hostile environment even more challenging for herbivores.
Professor Liu Feng adds: "We have developed a method to detect these phenolic compounds in fossil pollen grains recovered from Tibet, and detected much higher concentrations in those grains that were produced during the mass extinction and peak phase of volcanic activity."
Elevated UV-B levels can have even further-reaching and longer-lasting impacts on the entire Earth System. Recent modeling studies have demonstrated that elevated UV-B stress reduces plant biomass and terrestrial carbon storage, which would exacerbate global warming. The increased concentration of phenolic compounds also makes plant tissue less easily digestible, making a hostile environment even more challenging for herbivores.
The impacts of ozone depletion and elevated UV-B levels on the terrestrial ecosystem.
Credit: Conor Haynes-Mannering, University of Nottingham
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