Planavsky, NJ, Crowe, SA, Fakhraee, M et al. (5 more authors) (2021) Evolution of the structure and impact of Earth’s biosphere. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2. pp. 123-139. ISSN 2662-138X
Abstract
Life on Earth has existed for over 3.5 billion years and has caused fundamental changes in Earth’s biogeochemistry. However, the timing and impact of major events in the evolution of the biosphere are hotly contested, owing partially to the inherent difficulty in studying events that occurred in deep time. In this Review, we discuss the evolving structure of Earth’s biosphere and major changes in its capacity to alter geochemical cycles. We describe evidence that oxygenic photosynthesis evolved relatively early, but contend that marine primary productivity was low, surface oxygen was scarce and marine anoxia was prevalent for the majority of Earth’s history. Anoxygenic phototrophs were likely a key part of the marine biosphere in these low-oxygen oceans, and nutrient uptake by these organisms was one factor limiting the extent of marine oxygenic photosynthesis. Moreover, there are potential issues with the commonly held idea that the diversification of eukaryotes fundamentally altered ocean nutrient cycling and transformed the marine biological pump. Furthermore, we argue that terrestrial primary productivity was a substantial mode of biological carbon fixation following the widespread emergence of continental land masses, even before the rise of land plants, impacting carbon cycling on a global scale.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | Copyright © 2021, Springer Nature Limited. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 17 Feb 2021 15:24 |
Last Modified: | 07 Jul 2021 00:38 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s43017-020-00116-w |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:170902 |