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Extinction event
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==Effects and recovery== The effects of mass extinction events varied widely. After a major extinction event, usually only [[weed#Weeds as adaptable species|weedy species]] survive due to their ability to live in diverse habitats.<ref name=Quammen>{{cite magazine |title=Planet of Weeds | vauthors = Quammen D |magazine=Harper's Magazine |date=October 1998 |url= http://sep.csumb.edu/class/ESSP645/readings/Quammen%201998.pdf |access-date=November 15, 2012 }}</ref> Later, species diversify and occupy empty niches. Generally, it takes millions of years for [[biodiversity]] to recover after extinction events.<ref>{{cite news |title=Evolution imposes 'speed limit' on recovery after mass extinctions |website=ScienceDaily |date=April 8, 2019 |language=en |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190408114252.htm |access-date=2019-09-07}}</ref> In the most severe mass extinctions it may take 15 to 30 million years.<ref name="Quammen" /> The worst [[Phanerozoic]] event, the [[Permian–Triassic extinction event|Permian–Triassic extinction]], devastated life on Earth, killing over 90% of species. Life seemed to recover quickly after the P-T extinction, but this was mostly in the form of [[pioneer organism|disaster taxa]], such as the hardy ''[[Lystrosaurus]]''. The most recent research indicates that the specialized animals that formed complex ecosystems, with high biodiversity, complex food webs and a variety of niches, took much longer to recover. It is thought that this long recovery was due to successive waves of extinction that inhibited recovery, as well as prolonged environmental stress that continued into the Early Triassic. Recent research indicates that recovery did not begin until the start of the mid-Triassic, four to six million years after the extinction;<ref name="LehrmannRamezanBowring2006TimingOfRecovery"> {{cite journal | vauthors = Lehrmann DJ, Ramezani J, Bowring SA, Martin MW, Montgomery P, Enos P, Payne JL, Orchard MJ, Hongmei W, Jiayong W | display-authors = 6 | date = December 2006 | title = Timing of recovery from the end-Permian extinction: Geochronologic and biostratigraphic constraints from south China | journal = Geology | volume = 34 | issue = 12 | pages = 1053–1056 | doi = 10.1130/G22827A.1 | bibcode = 2006Geo....34.1053L }} </ref> and some writers estimate that the recovery was not complete until 30 million years after the P-T extinction, that is, in the late Triassic.<ref name="SahneyBenton2008RecoveryFromProfoundExtinction"> {{cite journal | vauthors = Sahney S, Benton MJ | title = Recovery from the most profound mass extinction of all time | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 275 | issue = 1636 | pages = 759–765 | date = April 2008 | pmid = 18198148 | pmc = 2596898 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2007.1370 | author2-link = Michael Benton }} </ref> Subsequent to the P-T extinction, there was an increase in provincialization, with species occupying smaller ranges – perhaps removing incumbents from niches and setting the stage for an eventual rediversification.<ref name="Sidor2013">{{cite journal | vauthors = Sidor CA, Vilhena DA, Angielczyk KD, Huttenlocker AK, Nesbitt SJ, Peecook BR, Steyer JS, Smith RM, Tsuji LA | display-authors = 6 | title = Provincialization of terrestrial faunas following the end-Permian mass extinction | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences| volume = 110 | issue = 20 | pages = 8129–8133 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23630295 | pmc = 3657826 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1302323110 | bibcode = 2013PNAS..110.8129S | doi-access = free }} </ref> The effects of mass extinctions on plants are somewhat harder to quantify, given the biases inherent in the plant fossil record. Some mass extinctions (such as the end-Permian) were equally catastrophic for plants, whereas others, such as the end-Devonian, did not affect the flora.<ref name="Cascales-Miñana2011">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cascales-Miñana B, Cleal CJ | year = 2011 | title = Plant fossil record and survival analyses | journal = Lethaia | volume = 45 | pages = 71–82 | doi = 10.1111/j.1502-3931.2011.00262.x }}</ref>
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