Mosaic terrestrial diversity dynamics through the Permo-Triassic interval

The end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) represents the most severe biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic Eon on Earth and has been well documented in marine taxa. However, its impact on terrestrial organisms and ecosystems remains incompletely understood. Here we present a high-resolution reconstruction of terrestrial diversification dynamics and spatial reorganization across the Permo-Triassic boundary (PTB) using comprehensive occurrence data of macroplants, sporomorphs and vertebrates. Terrestrial responses to the EPME show highly temporal, regional and taxonomic heterogeneities. Plants experienced a genus-level diversity loss of ~ 6.7%, across the PTB, whilst vertebrates, a lagged decline from the late Permian, peaking at a diversity loss of ~ 66.7%. Global distributions of plant and vertebrate show converging on similar latitudinal gradients post the PTB. Plant diversity loss is disproportionately high in low-latitude and tropical regions and progressively lower toward mid- and high-latitudes. Our study facilitates a fine-grained understanding to terrestrial macroevolution in geologic history through multi-analysis of a large volume of fossil data. Our findings challenge the long-held notion of global terrestrial collapse and mass extinction in plants during the PTB and offer a deep-time analogue for uneven response of extant terrestrial biodiversity to ongoing climate change.