The end-Permian witnessed the most severe mass extinction event through the Phanerozoic, closely related to the global environmental deteriorations, for instance, extremely warming climate, oceanic acidification and anoxia [1]. Global climatic and environmental perturbations during the Permian-Triassic have been commonly suggested as a result of intense volcanism and massive CO₂ emissions [2]; however, the response and consequence for such extreme climate conditions and delayed recovery of climate perturbations during the Early Triassic have yet to be directly constrained [3]. Here, we reported high-temporal resolution lithium isotope (δ⁷Li) records from four shallow-marine carbonate and three terrestrial successions through the Permian-Triassic transition. All carbonate successions congruently documented rapidly decreased δ⁷Li values prior to the Permian-Triassic boundary and persistently low δ⁷Li values during the earliest Triassic. In contrast, the terrestrial successions exhibit increased δ⁷Li values during the Permian-Triassic transition. Considering and correcting for the effects of global temperature and marine reverse weathering on δ⁷Li records, our data indicate rapid decreases in weathering intensity and chemical weathering rate associated with widespread terrestrial deforestation through the Permian-Triassic transition. This diminished weathering response to volcanic carbon emissions may have contributed to prolonged high atmospheric CO₂ levels and global temperatures through the Early Triassic. The sustained greenhouse climate conditions, in turn, inhibited marine and terrestrial biological recovery during the Early Triassic.

Reference
[1] Shen, S. et al., 2011. Calibrating the End-Permian Mass Extinction. Science 334, 1367-1372.
[2] Cui, Y. et al., 2021. Massive and rapid predominantly volcanic CO2 emission during the end-Permian mass extinction. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, e2014701118.
[3] Joachimski, M.M. et al., 2022. Five million years of high atmospheric CO₂ in the aftermath of the Permian-Triassic mass extinction. Geology 50, 650-654.