From rainforest to herbland: New insights into land plant responses to the end-Permian mass extinction

The end-Permian mass extinction is the greatest biotic crisis in Earth history causing the extinction of a large number of marine and terrestrial animals globally. However, how land plants responded to the catastrophe remains controversial. The successive plant-bearing beds in China provide a unique window into the great vegetation change through the critical Permian–Triassic time interval. A notable monospecific vegetation comprising a new...