Foreign media: New research shows that during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction about 252 million years ago, tropical forests collapsed, leading to a severe decline in carbon sink capacity, which triggered and prolonged an extreme global warming period lasting 5 million years.
This study was led by the University of Leeds in the UK and China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). The team reconstructed the plant productivity change map of this period by analyzing China's rich fossil and paleoclimate strata.
The study was published in "Nature Communications," for the first time systematically proving that vegetation loss caused long-term retention of carbon dioxide, significantly amplifying the greenhouse effect.
The research team emphasized that if current tropical forests were to collapse similarly, even if humans stop emissions, the global climate would be difficult to recover, reminding us that we are approaching a "tipping point" in the modern climate system.
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836715513990147/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author(s) alone.