Genomic and fossil windows into the secret lives of the most ancient fungi

ML Berbee, C Strullu-Derrien, PM Delaux… - Nature Reviews …, 2020 - nature.com
Fungi have crucial roles in modern ecosystems as decomposers and pathogens, and they
engage in various mutualistic associations with other organisms, especially plants. They …

Evolutionary synchrony of Earth's biosphere and sedimentary-stratigraphic record

NS Davies, AP Shillito, BJ Slater, AG Liu… - Earth-Science …, 2020 - Elsevier
The landscapes and seascapes of Earth's surface provide the theatre for life, but to what
extent did the actors build the stage? The role of life in the long-term shaping of the …

The invasion of the land in deep time: integrating Paleozoic records of paleobiology, ichnology, sedimentology, and geomorphology

LA Buatois, NS Davies, MR Gibling… - Integrative and …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
The invasion of the land was a complex, protracted process, punctuated by mass extinctions,
that involved multiple routes from marine environments. We integrate paleobiology …

The Devonian landscape factory: plant–sediment interactions in the Old Red Sandstone of Svalbard and the rise of vegetation as a biogeomorphic agent

NS Davies, CM Berry, JEA Marshall… - Journal of the …, 2021 - pubs.geoscienceworld.org
Abstract The Devonian Period was a crucial interval in the evolution of plants. During its 60
myr duration, it witnessed the successive evolution of roots, wood, trees and forests. In …

The colonization of drylands by early vascular plants: Evidence from Early Devonian fossil soils and in situ plant traces from South China

J Xue, J Wang, P Huang, L Liu, T Huang, L Zhang… - Earth-Science …, 2023 - Elsevier
The mid-Paleozoic colonization of land by plants induced profound changes in the Earth's
surface environments. However, it remains poorly understood how the earliest vascular …

Paleozoic vegetation increased fine sediment in fluvial and tidal channels: Evidence from secular changes to the mudrock content of ancient point bars

WJ McMahon, NS Davies, MG Kleinhans… - …, 2023 - pubs.geoscienceworld.org
The amount of mudrock preserved globally in alluvium increased in stratigraphic synchrony
with the Paleozoic evolution of land plants. This observation has been explained by …

Cryptogamic ground covers as analogues for early terrestrial biospheres: Initiation and evolution of biologically mediated proto‐soils

RL Mitchell, C Strullu‐Derrien, D Sykes, S Pressel… - …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Modern cryptogamic ground covers (CGCs), comprising assemblages of bryophytes
(hornworts, liverworts, mosses), fungi, bacteria, lichens and algae, are thought to resemble …

Trace element geochemistry in the earliest terrestrial ecosystem, the Rhynie Chert

J Parnell, TO Akinsanpe, JGT Armstrong… - Geochemistry …, 2022 - Wiley Online Library
The symbiotic partnership of plants and fungi was a critical means of nutrient uptake during
colonization of the terrestrial surface. The Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert shows evidence for …

[HTML][HTML] Lichens bite the dust–a bioweathering scenario in the atacama desert

P Jung, K Baumann, D Emrich, A Springer, VJ Felde… - Iscience, 2020 - cell.com
Bioweathering mediated by microorganisms plays a significant role in biogeochemical
cycles on global scales over geological timescales. Single processes induced by specific …

Terrestrial surface stabilisation by modern analogues of the earliest land plants: A multi‐dimensional imaging study

RL Mitchell, P Kenrick, S Pressel, J Duckett… - …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
The evolution of the first plant‐based terrestrial ecosystems in the early Palaeozoic had a
profound effect on the development of soils, the architecture of sedimentary systems, and …