The impacts of land plant evolution on Earth's climate and oxygenation state – An interdisciplinary review

The Paleozoic emergence of terrestrial plants has been linked to a stepwise increase in Earth's O2 levels and a cooling of Earth's climate by drawdown of atmospheric CO2. Vegetation affects the Earth's O2 and CO2 levels in multiple ways, including preferential organic carbon preservation by decay-resistant biopolymers (e.g. lignin) and changing the continental weathering regime that governs oceanic nutrient supply and marine biological...