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The Late Devonian Extinction

In Our Time: Science

CHAPTER

The Evolution of Plants in the Late Devonian

Plants appear in the spread not far from water but by the end of the Devonian they're pretty much everywhere. This is a fundamental change in the earth system, the first soils appear at this time and the plants develop roots through the Devonian. These are the first soils that the planet has ever seen so we've gone from barren rocky planet to green planet with world's first soils. soil is full of nutrients including things like nitrogen and phosphorus - these are some of life's macro nutrients. If we suddenly have an excess of nutrients we create blooms of things like algae that then consume that oxygen which can starve the seawater of that oxygen.

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