The angiosperm radiation revisited, an ecological explanation for Darwin's 'abominable mystery'.
The angiosperm radiation revisited, an ecological explanation for Darwin's 'abominable mystery'.
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01342.x
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发表时间：
2009-09
期刊：
影响因子：
8.8
通讯作者：
Scheffer M
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Berendse F;Scheffer M
最大的地球辐射之一是白垩纪开花植物（被子植物）的多样化。早期的被子植物似乎仅限于受干扰的、水生的或极端干燥的地点，这表明它们在大多数其他地方受到仍然统治植物世界的裸子植物的压制。然而，化石证据表明，到了白垩纪末，被子植物已经从裸子植物手中夺取了地球仪的主导地位。在这里，我们提出了一个生态学的解释，他们逃离他们的从属地位，相对于裸子植物和蕨类植物。我们建议，被子植物，由于其较高的增长速度更快的利润增加营养供应比裸子植物，而在同一时间，被子植物促进土壤养分释放产生的凋落物，更容易分解。一旦被子植物达到一定的丰度，这种正反馈可能导致失控过程。这种关键的过渡到被子植物的优势的可能性的证据来自最近的工作，大规模植被的变化，长期的实地观察，大规模的实验和模拟模型的使用。
One of the greatest terrestrial radiations is the diversification of the flowering plants (Angiospermae) in the Cretaceous period. Early angiosperms appear to have been limited to disturbed, aquatic or extremely dry sites, suggesting that they were suppressed in most other places by the gymnosperms that still dominated the plant world. However, fossil evidence suggests that by the end of the Cretaceous the angiosperms had spectacularly taken over the dominant position from the gymnosperms around the globe. Here, we suggest an ecological explanation for their escape from their subordinate position relative to gymnosperms and ferns. We propose that angiosperms due to their higher growth rates profit more rapidly from increased nutrient supply than gymnosperms, whereas at the same time angiosperms promote soil nutrient release by producing litter that is more easily decomposed. This positive feedback may have resulted in a runaway process once angiosperms had reached a certain abundance. Evidence for the possibility of such a critical transition to angiosperm dominance comes from recent work on large scale vegetation shifts, linking long-term field observations, large scale experiments and the use of simulation models.