Was climatic cooling during the earliest Carboniferous driven by expansion of seed plants?

Abstract The expansion of land plants is considered to have played a key role in triggering the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA), but evidence linking climatic events terrestrial floral changes limited. Here, we generated bulk carbonate ?13C, conodont ?18O and 87Sr/86Sr profiles from lowermost Carboniferous South China Vietnam order investigate their relationship contemporaneous plant evolution. Climatic cooling mid-Tournaisian coincided with large perturbations global carbon cycle continental weathering regimes as well major diversification episode among seed plants. These relationships are consistent intensified basalts (i.e., lower 87Sr/86Sr), enhanced marine productivity higher ?13Ccarb), reduced atmospheric pCO2 attendant ?18O). results our study suggest that floras was driver Early climate change.