1 Corenblit, D. et al. Feedbacks between geomorphology and biota controlling Earth surface processes and landforms: A review of foundation concepts and current understandings. Earth Sci. Rev. 106, 307–331 (2011).

2 Montgomery, D. R. & Piégay, H. Wood in rivers: interactions with channel morphology and processes. Geomorphology 51, 1–5 (2003).

3 Darwin, C. The Formation of Vegetated Mould through the Action of Worms with Observation of their Habitats (John Murray, 1883).

4 Corenblit, D., Steiger, J., Gurnell, A. M. & Tabacchi, E. Darwinian origin of landforms. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 32, 2070–2073 (2007).

5 Fisher, S. G., Heffernan, J. B., Sponseller, R. A. & Welter, J. R. Functional ecomorphology: Feedbacks between form and function in fluvial landscape ecosystems. Geomorphology 89, 84–96 (2007).

6 Murray, A. B., Knaapen, M. A. F., Tal, M. & Kirwan, M. L. Biomorphodynamics: Physical-biological feedbacks that shape landscapes. Water Resour. Res. 44, W11301 (2008).

7 Osterkamp, W. R., Hupp, C. R. & Stoffel, M. The interactions between vegetation and erosion: new directions for research at the interface of ecology and geomorphology. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. http://dx.doi.org/101002/esp.2173 (2011).

8 Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H. & Shachak, M. Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos 69, 373–386 (1994).

9 Algeo, T. J., Berner, R. A., Maynard, J. B. & Scheckler, S. E. Late Devonian oceanic anoxic events and biotic crises: “Rooted” in the evolution of vascular land plants? GSA Today 5, 64–66 (1995).

10 Algeo, T. J. & Scheckler, S. E. Terrestrial-marine teleconnections in the Devonian: links between the evolution of land plants, weathering processes, and marine anoxic events. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 353, 113–130 (1998).

11 Berner, R. A. GEOCARBSULF: A combined model for Phanerozoic atmospheric O2 and CO2 . Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 70, 5653–5664 (2006).

12 Berner, R. A. The long-term carbon cycle, fossil fuels and atmospheric composition. Nature 426, 323–326 (2003).

13 Schumm, S. A. Speculations concerning paleohydrologic controls of terrestrial sedimentation. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 79, 1573–1588 (1968).

14 Davies, N. S. & Gibling, M. R. Cambrian to Devonian evolution of alluvial systems: The sedimentological impact of the earliest land plants. Earth Sci. Rev. 98, 171–200 (2010).

15 Cotter, E. in Fluvial Sedimentology (ed. Miall, A. D.) 361–383 (Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Memoir 5, 1978).

16 Long, D. G. F. in The Precambrian Earth: Tempos and Events (eds Eriksson, P. G., Altermann, W., Nelson, D. R., Mueller, W. U. & Catuneanu, O.) 660–663 (Elsevier, 2004).

17 Long, D. G. F. in From River to Rock Record: The Preservation of Fluvial Sediments and their subsequent Interpretation (eds Davidson, S., Leleu, S. & North, C. P.) 37–61 (SEPM, 2011).

18 Davies, N. S., Gibling, M. R. & Rygel, M. C. Alluvial facies evolution during the Palaeozoic greening of the continents: case studies, conceptual models and modern analogues. Sedimentology 58, 220–258 (2011).

19 Dott, R. H. Jr & Byers, C. W. SEPM research conference on modern shelf and ancient cratonic sedimentation - the orthoquartzite-carbonate suite revisited. J. Sedim. Petrol. 51, 329–347 (1981).

20 Dott, R. H. Jr, Byers, C. W., Fielder, G. W., Stenzel, S. R. & Winfree, K. E. Aeolian to marine transition in Cambro-Ordovician cratonic sheet sandstones of the northern Mississippi valley, U. S. A.. Sedimentology 33, 345–367 (1986).

21 Dott, R. H. Jr The importance of eolian abrasion in supermature quartz sandstones and the paradox of weathering on vegetation-free landscapes. J. Geol. 111, 387–405 (2003).

22 Dalrymple, R. W., Narbonne, G. M. & Smith, L. Eolian action and the distribution of Cambrian shales in North America. Geology 13, 607–610 (1985).

23 Went, D. J. Pre-vegetation alluvial fan facies and processes: an example from the Cambro-Ordovician Rozel Conglomerate Formation, Jersey, Channel Islands. Sedimentology 52, 693–713 (2005).

24 Kennedy, M., Droser, M., Mayer, L. M., Pevear, D. & Mrofka, D. Late Precambrian oxygenation; inception of the clay mineral factory. Science 311, 1446–1449 (2006).

25 Taylor, W. A. & Strother, P. K. Ultrastructure of some Cambrian palynomorphs from the Bright Angel Shale, Arizona, USA. Rev. Palaeobot. Palyno. 151, 41–50 (2008).

26 Steemans, P. et al. Origin and radiation of the earliest vascular land plants. Science 324, 353 (2009).

27 Tomescu, A. M. F., Pratt, L. M., Rothwell, G. W., Strother, P. K. & Nadon, G. C. Carbon isotopes support the presence of extensive land floras pre-dating the origin of vascular plants. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 283, 46–59 (2009).

28 Rubinstein, C. V., Gerrienne, P., de la Puente, G. S. L., Astini, R. A. & Steemans, P. Early Middle Ordovician evidence for land plants in Argentina (eastern Gondwana). New Phytol. 188, 365–369 (2010).

29 Raven, J. A. & Andrews, M. Evolution of tree nutrition. Tree Physiol. 30, 1050–1071 (2010).

30 Kidston, R. & Lang, W. H. On Old Red Sandstone plants showing structure, from the Rhynie Chert Bed, Aberdeenshire. Part I. Rhynia gwynne-vaughani, Kidston and Lang. Trans. R. Soc. Edin. 51, 761–784 (1917).

31 Trewin, N. H., Fayers, S. R. & Kelman, R. Subaqueous silicification of the contents of small ponds in an Early Devonian hot-spring complex, Rhynie, Scotland. Can. J. Earth Sci. 40, 1697–1712 (2003).

32 Dawson, J. W. On the fossil plants from the Devonian rocks of Canada. Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 15, 477–488 (1859).

33 Boyce, C. K. et al. Devonian landscape heterogeneity recorded by a giant fungus. Geology 35, 399–402 (2007).

34 Małkowski, K. & Racki, G. A global biogeochemical perturbation across the Silurian-Devonian boundary: Ocean-continent-biosphere feedbacks. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 276, 244–254 (2009).

35 Glasspool, I. J., Edwards, D. & Axe, L. Charcoal in the Early Devonian: A wildfire-derived Konservat-Lagerstatte. Rev. Palaeobot. Palyno. 142, 131–136 (2006).

36 Gerrienne, P. et al. A simple type of wood in two Early Devonian plants. Science 333, 837 (2011).

37 Davies, N. S. & Gibling, M. R. Paleozoic vegetation and the Siluro-Devonian rise of fluvial lateral accretion sets. Geology 38, 51–54 (2010).

38 Kennedy, K. & Gibling, M. R. The Campbellton Formation of New Brunswick, Canada: paleoenvironments in an important Early Devonian terrestrial locality. Can. J. Earth Sci. 48, 48, 1561–1580 (2011).

39 Stein, W. E., Mannolini, F., Hernick, L. V., Landing, E. & Berry, C. M. Giant cladoxylopsid trees resolve the enigma of the Earth's earliest forest stumps at Gilboa. Nature 446, 904–907 (2007).

40 Mintz, J. S., Driese, S. G. & White, J. D. Environmental and ecological variability of Middle Devonian (Givetian) forests in Appalachian Basin paleosols, New York, United States. Palaios 25, 85–96 (2010).

41 Godderis, Y. & Joachimski, M. M. Global change in the Late Devonian: modelling the Frasnian-Famennian short-term carbon isotope excursions. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 202, 309–329 (2004).

42 Decombeix, A.-L., Meyer-Berthaud, B. & Galtier, J. Transitional changes in arborescent lignophytes at the Devonian - Carboniferous boundary. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 168, 547–557 (2011).

43 Falcon-Lang, H. J. & Galtier, J. Anatomically-preserved tree-trunks in late Mississippian (Serpukhovian, late Pendleian-Arnsbergian) braided fluvial channel facies, near Searston, southwest Newfoundland, Canada. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 160, 154–162 (2010).

44 Falcon-Lang, H. J. & Bashforth, A. R. Morphology, anatomy, and upland ecology of large cordaitalean trees from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Newfoundland. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 135, 223–243 (2005).

45 DiMichele, W. A., Cecil, C. B., Montañez, I. P. & Falcon-Lang, H. J. Cyclic changes in Pennsylvanian paleoclimate and effects on floristic dynamics in tropical Pangaea. Int. J. Coal Geol. 83, 329–344 (2010).

46 Falcon-Lang, H. J. et al. Incised channel fills containing conifers indicate that seasonally dry vegetation dominated Pennsylvanian tropical lowlands. Geology 37, 923–926 (2009).

47 Falcon-Lang, H. J. et al. Pennsylvanian coniferopsid forests in sabkha facies reveal the nature of seasonal tropical biome. Geology 39, 371–374 (2011).

48 Fielding, C. R., Allen, J. P., Alexander, J. & Gibling, M. R. A facies model for fluvial systems in the seasonal tropics and subtropics. Geology 37, 623–626 (2009).

49 Hacke, U. G., Sperry, J. S., Pockman, W. T., Davis, S. D. & McCulloh, K. A. Trends in wood density and structure are linked to prevention of xylem implosion by negative pressure. Oecologia 126, 457–461 (2001).

50 Canadell, J. et al. Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale. Oecologia 108, 583–595 (1996).

51 Gastaldo, R. A. & Degges, C. W. Sedimentology and paleontology of a Carboniferous log jam. Int. J. Coal Geol. 69, 103–118 (2007).

52 Gibling, M. R., Bashforth, A. R., Falcon-Lang, H. J., Allen, J. P. & Fielding, C. R. Log jams and flood sediment buildup caused channel abandonment and avulsion in the Pennsylvanian of Atlantic Canada. J. Sedim. Res 80, 268–287 (2010).

53 Nichols, G. J. & Jones, T. P. Fusain in Carboniferous shallow marine sediments, Donegal, Ireland: the sedimentological effects of wildfire. Sedimentology 39, 487–502 (1992).

54 Marriott, S. B., Wright, V. P. & Williams, B. P. J. in Fluvial Sedimentology VII (eds Blum, M. D., Marriott, S. B. & Leclair, S. F.) 517–529 (Blackwell, 2005).

55 Davies, N. S. & Gibling, M. R. Evolution of fixed-channel alluvial plains in response to Carboniferous vegetation. Nature Geosci. 4, 629–633 (2011).

56 Gurnell, A. M. et al. Wood storage within the active zone of a large European gravel-bed river. Geomorphology 34, 55–72 (2000).

57 Rygel, M. C., Gibling, M. R. & Calder, J. H. Vegetation-induced sedimentary structures from fossil forests in the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia. Sedimentology 51, 531–552 (2004).

58 Bashforth, A. R., Drabkova, J., Oplustil, S., Gibling, M. R. & Falcon-Lang, H. J. Landscape gradients and patchiness in riparian vegetation on a Middle Pennsylvanian braided river plain prone to flood disturbance (Nyrany Member, Central and Western Bohemian Basin, Czech Republic). Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 163, 153–189 (2010).

59 Clarke, J. T., Warnock, R. C. M. & Donoghue, P. C. J. Establishing a time-scale for plant evolution. New Phytol. 192, 266–301 (2011).

60 Gibling, M. R., Nanson, G. G. & Maroulis, J. C. Anastomosing river sedimentation in the Channel Country of central Australia. Sedimentology 45, 595–619 (1998).

61 Tooth, S. & Nanson, G. C. The role of vegetation in the formation of anabranching channels in an ephemeral river, Northern plains, arid central Australia. Hydrol. Process. 14, 3099–3117 (2000).

62 Tooth, S., Jansen, J. D., Nanson, G. C., Coulthard, T. J. & Pietsch, T. Riparian vegetation and the late Holocene development of an anabranching river: Magela Creek, northern Australia. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 120, 1021–1035 (2008).

63 Harwood, K. & Brown, A. G. Changing in-channel and overbank flood velocity distributions and the morphology of forested multiple channel (anastomosing) systems. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 18, 741–748 (1993).

64 Rodrigues, S., Bréhéret, J.-G., Macaire, J.-J., Greulich, S. & Villar, M. In-channel woody vegetation controls on sedimentary processes and the sedimentary record within alluvial environments: a modern example of an anabranch of the River Loire, France. Sedimentology 54, 223–242 (2007).

65 Abernethy, B. & Rutherfurd, I. D. The effect of riparian tree roots on the mass-stability of riverbanks. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 25, 921–937 (2000).

66 Dupuy, L., Fourcaud, T. & Stokes, A. A numerical investigation into the influence of soil type and root architecture on tree anchorage. Plant Soil 278, 119–134 (2005).

67 Pollen, N. Temporal and spatial variability in root reinforcement of streambanks: Accounting for soil shear strength and moisture. Catena 69, 197–205 (2007).

68 Hales, T. C., Ford, C. R., Hwang, T., Vose, J. M. & Band, L. E. Topographic and ecologic controls on root reinforcement. J. Geophys. Res. 114, F03013 (2009).

69 Abbe, T. B. & Montgomery, D. R. Patterns and processes of wood debris accumulation in the Queets river basin, Washington. Geomorphology 51, 81–107 (2003).

70 Webb, A. A. & Erskine, W. D. Distribution, recruitment, and geomorphic significance of large woody debris in an alluvial forest stream: Tonghi Creek, southeastern Australia. Geomorphology 51, 109–126 (2003).

71 Francis, R. A., Petts, G. E. & Gurnell, A. M. Wood as a driver of landscape change along river corridors. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 33, 1622–1626 (2008).

72 Francis, R. A., Corenblit, D. & Edwards, P. J. Perspectives on biogeomorphology, ecosystem engineering and self-organisation in island-braided fluvial ecosystems. Aquat. Sci. 71, 290–304 (2009).

73 Nanson, G. C., Barbetti, M. & Taylor, G. River stabilisation due to changing climate and vegetation during the late Quaternary in western Tasmania, Australia. Geomorphology 13, 145–158 (1995).

74 Brooks, A. P., Brierley, G. J. & Millar, R. G. The long-term control of vegetation and woody debris on channel and flood-plain evolution: insights from a paired catchment study in southeastern Australia. Geomorphology 51, 7–29 (2003).

75 Brown, A. G. Learning from the past: palaeohydrology and palaeoecology. Freshwater Biol. 47, 817–829 (2002).

76 Davies, N. S. & Sambrook Smith, G. Signatures of quaternary fluvial response, Upper River Trent, Staffordshire, UK: A synthesis of outcrop, documentary, and GPR data. Z. Geomorphol. 50, 347–374 (2006).

77 Gran, K. & Paola, C. Riparian vegetation controls on braided stream dynamics. Water Resour. Res. 37, 3275–3283 (2001).

78 Murray, A. B. & Paola, C. Modelling the effect of vegetation on channel pattern in bedload rivers. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 28, 131–143 (2003).

79 Coulthard, T. J. Effects of vegetation on braided stream pattern and dynamics. Water Resour. Res. 41, W04003 (2005).

80 Tal, M. & Paola, C. Dynamic single-thread channels maintained by the interaction of flow and vegetation. Geology 35, 347–350 (2007).

81 Braudrick, C. A., Dietrich, W. E., Leverich, G. T. & Sklar, L. S. Experimental evidence for the conditions necessary to sustain meandering in coarse-bedded rivers. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 106, 16936–16941 (2009).

82 Perona, P. et al. Biomass selection by floods and related timescales: Part 1. Experimental observations. Adv. Water Resour. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2011.09.016 (2011).

83 Edmaier, K., Burlando, P. & Perona, P. Mechanisms of vegetation uprooting by flow in alluvial non-cohesive sediment. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 15, 1615–1627 (2011).

84 Corenblit, D. & Steiger, J. Vegetation as a major conductor of geomorphic changes on the Earth surface: toward evolutionary geomorphology. Earth Surf. Proc. Land. 34, 891–896 (2009).

85 Buatois, L. A. et al. Colonization of brackish-water systems through time: evidence from the trace-fossil record. Palaios 20, 321–347 (2005).

86 Brasier, A. T. Searching for travertines, calcretes and speleothems in deep time: Processes, appearances, predictions and the impact of plants. Earth Sci. Rev. 104, 213–239 (2011).

87 Naiman, R. J., Bilby, R. E. & Bisson, P. A. Riparian ecology and management in the Pacific coastal rain forest. BioSciences 50, 996–1011 (2000).

88 MacNaughton, R. B. et al. First steps on land: Arthropod trackways in Cambrian-Ordovician eolian sandstone, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Geology 30, 391–394 (2002).

89 Davies, N. S., Gibling, M. R. & Rygel, M. C. Marine influence in the Juniata Formation (Upper Ordovician, Potters Mills, Pennsylvania): Implications for the history of life on land. Palaios 25, 527–539 (2011).

90 Buatois, L. A., Mangano, M. G., Genise, J. F. & Taylor, T. N. The ichnologic record of the continental invertebrate invasion: Evolutionary trends in environmental expansion, ecospace utilization, and behavioral complexity. Palaios 13, 217–240 (1998).

91 Buatois, L. A. & Mangano, M. G. in Trace Fossils Concepts, Problems, Prospects (ed. Miller, W. I.) 285–323 (Elsevier, 2007).

92 Labandeira, C. The origin of herbivory on land: Initial patterns of plant tissue consumption by arthropods. Insect Sci. 14, 259–275 (2007).

93 Boucot, A. J. & Janis, C. Environment of the early Paleozoic vertebrates. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 41, 251–287 (1983).

94 Niedzwiedzki, G., Szrek, P., Narkiewicz, K., Narkiewicz, M. & Ahlberg, P. E. Tetrapod trackways from the early Middle Devonian period from Poland. Nature 463, 43–48 (2010).

95 Sues, H.-D. & Reisz, R. R. Origins and early evolution of herbivory in tetrapods. Trends Ecol. Evol. 13, 141–145 (1998).

96 Cascales-Miñana, B. New insights into the reading of Paleozoic plant fossil record discontinuities. Hist. Biol. 23, 115–130 (2011).

97 Cascales-Miñana, B. & Cleal, C. J. Plant fossil record and survival analyses. Lethaia 45, 71–82 (2011).

98 Labandeira, C. C., Beall, B. S. & Hueber, F. M. Early insect diversification: Evidence from a Lower Devonian bristletail from Quebec. Science 242, 913–916 (1988).

99 Labandeira, C. C. Invasion of the continents: cyanobacterial crusts to tree-inhabiting arthropods. Trends Ecol. Evol. 20, 253–262 (2005).