国际研究团队通过分析钻芯沉积物中的化石孢粉和有机微化石，发现约2.01亿年前三叠纪末大灭绝期间，古代蕨类植物覆盖的欧洲地区经历了持续严重的野火活动1。该研究基于包括来自英国640米长钻芯在内的4个钻芯数据，研究人员进行了15,000次孢粉和孢子的颜色测量1。蕨类植物扩展区间与木炭、多环芳烃含量升高完全重合，表明这一时期的生物地层与火灾活动之间存在直接关联1。
火山喷发导致大气中二氧化碳大量释放，全球气温上升5至10摄氏度，为蕨类植物的大规模扩展创造了条件1。作为灾难物种，蕨类植物能够在火烧后快速再生，其大规模覆盖形成的干燥燃料垫层又导致了反复的大规模野火，这一过程持续至少4万年，可能长达30万年1。研究人员指出，"气候变化、森林砍伐和机会主义物种的扩散相结合可能造成完美风暴"1。该研究已发表于《自然地球科学》2026年7月21日1。
An international research team has reconstructed a catastrophic period of repeated massive wildfires in Triassic Europe by analyzing fossil pollen and organic microfossils preserved in drill core sediments.1 The wildfires occurred during the end-Triassic extinction event approximately 201 million years ago, when volcanic eruptions released massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, raising global temperatures by 5 to 10 degrees Celsius.1 Ancient ferns, functioning as disaster species capable of rapid regeneration following fire, expanded across the region and created extensive dry fuel layers that triggered successive large-scale fires.1
The research, published in Nature Earth Sciences on July 21, 2026, was based on analysis of four drill cores, including a 640-meter-long core from the United Kingdom.1 Researchers conducted 15,000 color measurements of pollen and spores to track environmental changes.1 The expansion of fern populations coincided precisely with elevated levels of charcoal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chemical markers of fire activity.1 This fern-dominated period persisted for at least 40,000 years and potentially lasted as long as 300,000 years.1
According to the research team, "climate change, forest loss, and the spread of opportunistic species may have combined to create a perfect storm."1 The findings demonstrate how ancient vegetation patterns and fire dynamics were fundamentally reshaped during one of Earth's most severe extinction episodes.
评论
还没有评论，欢迎留下第一条。