Terrestrial Ecological Disturbances and Responses to Palaeowildfires at the Permian–Triassic Transition, A Review of Current Research

Longyi Shao; Fanghui Hua; Timothy P. Jones; Tianchang Zhang; Xuetian Wang; Zhiming Yan; Jing Lu; Jason Hilton

doi:10.63335/j.hp.2026.0048

Abstract

At the end of the Paleozoic Era, the Earth experienced an extreme ecosystem disturbance event, which was the Permian–Triassic Mass Extinction (PTME); causing an irreversible global catastrophe for animals and plants. Fossil evidence from marine strata correlated by zircon U–Pb dating of volcanic ash supports the view of a rapid and short-lived extinction. In contrast, the associated disturbance processes of terrestrial ecosystems were relatively prolonged and complex, leading different scholars to propose various extinction mechanisms and models for these ecosystem disturbances. Evidence of wildfires in late Permian–Early Triassic transitional strata have been reported globally, and many scholars believe that wildfires during the PTME were a significant contributing factor to terrestrial ecosystem disturbance. Globally, palaeowildfires may have served as an important driver for terrestrial ecosystem disturbance during the Permian–Triassic transition, promoting and accelerating the processes of environmental degradation. Palaeowildfires during the Permian–Triassic transition played a crucial role in the changing of terrestrial ecosystems with potential implications for the evolution of larger ecosystems. This study systematically reviews progress in recent research on the terrestrial PTME and wildfires. It summarizes and considers the mechanisms of terrestrial ecosystem disturbance during the P–T transition and responses to palaeowildfires, considering the palaeoenvironmental background and plant evolution processes.

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