> the evolution of tree roots may have triggered a series of mass extinctions [...] during the Devonian Period over 300 million years ago > the evolution of tr

> the evolution of tree roots may have triggered a series of mass extinctions [...] during the Devonian Period over 300 million years ago > the evolution of tree roots likely flooded past oceans with excess nutrients, causing massive algae growth > these rapid and destructive algae blooms would have depleted most of the oceans’ oxygen, triggering catastrophic mass extinction events > these past events were likely fueled by tree roots, which pulled nutrients from the land during times of growth, then abruptly dumped them into the Earth’s water during times of decay Just a tldr since it took me a minute to find. Super interesting, always fun / horrifying to think about the earth before terrestrial animal life.