Appraising the roles of nutrient availability, global change, and functional traits during the angiosperm rise to dominance

摘要

To explain the rise of angiosperms during the Cretaceous, Berendse and Scheffer (Ecol. Lett., 12, 2009, 865) invoke feedbacks between leaf litter, soil nutrients, and growth, overlooking other factors affecting resource acquisition by Cretaceous plants. We evaluate their hypothesis, highlight alternative explanations, and emphasize use of a broader framework for understanding the angiosperm radiation.