The evolution of flowering plants and its domination on earth’s plant life continues to perplex evolutionists up to now. A new research, published in Ecology Letters, shows the evolutionary spark that led to the main competitive advantage of flowering plants over other species, which resulted to their sudden growth and abundance.
The research, conducted by Dr Taylor Field, from the University of Tennessee, and Dr Tim Brodribb, from the University of Tasmania, used the physiology of flowering plants to discover how these were able to prevail by developing more effective hydraulics to boost their photosynthesis rates.
“Flowering plants are the most abundant and ecologically successful group of plants on earth”, Brodribb stated. “One reason for this dominance is the relatively high photosynthetic capacity of their leaves, but when and how this increased photosynthetic capacity evolved has been a mystery”.
With the use of an associated hydraulic-photosynthesis model and the density measurements of leaf veins, the researchers were able to reconstruct the development of seed plants’ leaf hydraulic capability. Results of the study showed that an evolution in the hydraulics of angiosperm leaves lead to the advancement of photosynthetic capacity.
“Without this hydraulic system we predict leaf photosynthesis would be two-fold lower then present”, Brodribb concluded. “So it is significant to note that without this evolutionary step land plants would not have the physical capacity to drive the high productivity that underpins modern terrestrial biology and human civilization”.
The research, conducted by Dr Taylor Field, from the University of Tennessee, and Dr Tim Brodribb, from the University of Tasmania, used the physiology of flowering plants to discover how these were able to prevail by developing more effective hydraulics to boost their photosynthesis rates.
“Flowering plants are the most abundant and ecologically successful group of plants on earth”, Brodribb stated. “One reason for this dominance is the relatively high photosynthetic capacity of their leaves, but when and how this increased photosynthetic capacity evolved has been a mystery”.
With the use of an associated hydraulic-photosynthesis model and the density measurements of leaf veins, the researchers were able to reconstruct the development of seed plants’ leaf hydraulic capability. Results of the study showed that an evolution in the hydraulics of angiosperm leaves lead to the advancement of photosynthetic capacity.
“Without this hydraulic system we predict leaf photosynthesis would be two-fold lower then present”, Brodribb concluded. “So it is significant to note that without this evolutionary step land plants would not have the physical capacity to drive the high productivity that underpins modern terrestrial biology and human civilization”.
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