Tectonic reshaping of the biosphere
Résumé
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The richness of biodiversity is often scrutinized through the lens of mountain belts, because
their typical altitudinal and latitudinal expressions provide grounds for solid arguments on the
biodiversification mechanisms at play. We carried out a meta-analysis of species range
worldwide, and show that regions of high biodiversity cluster in regions that are tectonically
active, but not only in mountain belts, and even more strongly in oceans than in continents.
Further, biodiversity relates to tectonic strain rates, in other words the rate at which the
landscape is remodeled. We contend that it is the time derivative of the physiography (and of
its functional characteristics) and not its instantaneous state that dictate the amount of species
that a given region may host. The rate at which habitat connectivity is disrupted or the
transience of niches seemingly prevails over the longterm stability of dispersal routes and
habitat morphologies. Future research should consider the dynamics of the solid Earth as a
primordial control on the distribution of species at its surface.