A New Species of Coniopteris moguqiensis sp. nov. from the Middle Jurassic Wanbao Formation in Eastern Inner Mongolia,China

In recent years, an increasing number of plant fossil leaves and petrified woods have been discovered from the Middle Jurassic Wanbao Formation in Moguqi Town of Inner Mongolia, NE China. Here, we describe a new species of Coniopteris moguqiensis sp. nov. preserved as a fragment with fertile and sterile pinnules. The sterile ultimate pinnules are elongate ovate with sphenopteriod type venation, and fertile pinnules are usually isolated, bipinnate at least with the sorus apical, elliptical, 1 mm in diameter; sporangia are almost globular, 100–150 μm in diameter, and the annulus is vertical. In situ spores are rounded-triangular in polar view, 25–30 μm in diameter with sides straight and slightly convex; trilete, laesurae are thin and slightly straight; the exine surface is usually psilate under the light microscope but finely reticuloid sculptured on the proximal view under a scanning electronic microscope. The fern genus Coniopteris usually suggests a warm and humid environment, which is consistent with the palaeoclimatic conditions of petrified wood and megafossil plants. The new discovery further supplements the floral composition of the Wanbao Formation, providing new material for understanding the evolutionary trend and classification of Coniopteris.     

A New Zosterophyll Plant, Ramoferis gen. nov., from the Posongchong Formation of Lower Devonian (Pragian) of Southeastern Yunnan, China

A new genus and species,Ramoferis amalia gen.et sp.nov.,is described from the Early Devonian(Pragian)Posongchong Formation,Wenshan district of southeastern Yunnan,China.This plant has isodichotomous major axes,which also divide anisotomously distally to produce closely spaced lateral branches,often within fertile regions.The stalked round to reniform sporangia,borne laterally and spirally over several levels of branches,are distantly to moderately spaced or aggregated into distinct spikes.The stalks incr...     

吉林延边地区下白垩统长财组铁角蕨属一新种

现生铁角蕨Asplenium Linn.种类繁多,广布于热带—温带地区,以热带—亚热带为分布中心。确切的Asplenium Linn.化石最早出现于东亚和俄罗斯远东地区的下白垩统地层中,是西伯利亚—加拿大区白垩纪的新生分子。根据吉林延边地区下白垩统长财组发现的铁角蕨化石的营养羽片和生殖羽片标本,在原位孢子研究基础上,通过与现生铁角蕨植物繁殖器官的对比,确认当前材料属于Asplenium Linn.;并进一步与国内外相关属种进行比对,建立了一个新种——长财铁角蕨（新种）（Asplenium changcaium Sun et Liu, sp. nov.）。该新种原位孢子的研究为深入探讨铁角蕨属乃至铁角蕨科的系统演化奠定了基础。     

白云岩成因的研究现状及相关发展趋势

白云岩占地壳沉积岩体积的20%,是碳酸盐岩地层中最主要的油气储渗体。白云岩成因是碳酸盐岩岩石学中最复杂、争论时间最久、最难解决的问题之一。根据机理的不同,当前各种主要的白云岩成因模式可划分为三大类:(1)原生白云石模式;(2)次生白云石化模式;(3)其他模式。虽然原生白云石的例子已被大量发现,但是,它们是否属真正的原生白云石仍将继续讨论下去。次生白云石化成因的实例远比原生白云石成因的多,这类模式可再细分为高盐度白云石化、低盐度白云石化、正常海水白云石化、热液白云石化等。其他模式主要有埋藏白云石化、生物白云石化、沉积—热液模式、玄武岩淋滤白云石化、出溶作用模式等。白云岩研究的热点问题及研究发展方向可以归纳为五个方面:全球气候变化与白云石化事件;大地构造环境和沉积作用对白云岩分布的控制;白云石化作用与层序地层学(相对海平面变化);新的研究手段的应用;“盖帽”白云岩。     

Experimental identification of Ca isotopic fractionations in higher plants

Hydroponic experiments have been performed in order to identify the co-occurring geochemical and biological processes affecting the Ca isotopic compositions within plants. To test the influence of the Ca concentration and pH of the nutritive solution on the Ca isotopic composition of the different plant organs, four experimental conditions were chosen combining two different Ca concentrations (5 and 60 ppm) and two pHs (4 and 6). The study was performed on rapid growing bean plants in order to have a complete growth cycle. Several organs (root, stem, leaf, reproductive) were sampled at two different growth stages (10 days and 6 weeks of culture) and prepared for Ca isotopic measurements.The results allow to identify three Ca isotopic fractionation levels. The first one takes place when Ca enters the lateral roots, during Ca adsorption on cation-exchange binding sites in the apoplasm. The second one takes place when Ca is bound to the polygalacturonic acids (pectins) of the middle lamella of the xylem cell wall. Finally, the last fractionation occurs in the reproductive organs, also caused by cation-exchange processes with pectins. However, the cell wall structures of these organs and/or number of available exchange sites seem to be different to those of the xylem wall. These three physico-chemical fractionation mechanisms allow to enrich the organs in the light ⁴⁰Ca isotope. The amplitude of the Ca isotopic fractionation within plant organs is highly dependent on the composition of the nutritive solution: low pH (4) and Ca concentrations (5 ppm) have no effect on the biomass increase of the plants but induce smaller fractionation amplitudes compared to those obtained from other experimental conditions. Thus, Ca isotopic signatures of bean plants are controlled by the external nutritive medium. This study highlights the potential of Ca isotopes to be applied in plant physiology (to identify Ca uptake, circulation and storage mechanisms within plants) and in biogeochemistry (to identify Ca recycling, Ca content and pH evolutions in soil solutions through time).     

中国云南早泥盆世坡松冲植物群——探究早期陆生维管植物演化分异的窗口

简要回顾了目前云南早泥盆世坡松冲植物群的研究，论述了坡松冲植物群的时代、组成和性质。研究表明坡松冲植物群在某些简单的、常见的工蕨类植物和三枝蕨类植物组成的背景下，含有具复杂形态和结构特征的植物类群，显示了较劳亚大陆同期陆生维管植物更进化的营养器官、生殖器官分异的水平。不同古植物地理区的长期隔离（也就是，早泥盆世的东北冈瓦纳古植物地理区和华南亚区）和独特的环境可能是造成众多地方性分子演化分异的原因。坡松冲植物群的研究表明中国华南可能是早期陆生维管植物演化辐射的中心之一。     

Early Cretaceous Archaefructus eoflora sp. nov. with Bisexual Flowers from Beipiao, Western Liaoning, China

Recently, whether Archaefructus has bisexual multi-parted flowers or just inflorescences of unisexual flowers, and whether it is ancestral to all angiosperms or a derived eudicot have been debated. Here, from the same Yixian Formation, NE China, we report a new Archaefructus species, A. eoflora sp. nov., with the generic characteristics of dissected leaves and bisexual reproductive axes. It is entirely preserved with roots, rhizome, shoots and protogynous reproductive organs at different developmental stages. Its lateral and main fertile shoots form a pseudo-indeterminate pattern, while the reproductive branches on the main shoot form a cymose inflorescence. Subtended by 1-2 bract-like leaves, the section of stamen clusters changes into a much shorter section of carpels that have one row of orthotropous ovules. Significantly, one cluster bearing two carpels and one stamen between the two sections demonstrates a true bisexual flower, an important step of the origin of floral bisexuality, and the homology     

Ruffordia goeppertii (Schizaeales,Anemiaceae) – A common fern from the Lower Cretaceous Crato Formation of northeast Brazil

Extraordinarily well preserved fern macrofossils of Ruffordia goeppertii (Dunker) Seward (Schizaeales, Anemiaceae) are described from the Lower Cretaceous (late Aptian) Nova Olinda Member of the Crato Formation, northeast Brazil. The identification is based on the morphology of macrofossils and in situ spores, taken from organically preserved material. This extinct, relatively small fern exhibits dimorphic fronds with sterile and fertile pinnules and schizaeoid sporangia, including cicatricose spores. The growth form with clearly differentiated sterile and fertile pinnae may be interpreted as an ancestral state in the phylogeny of the extant genus Anemia. The abundance of this fern reflects its role as ground cover in at least partly (dry) sunny areas, possibly in fern savannah-like habitats, with adaptations to survive drought stress. Finds of Ruffordia in northern Gondwana extend the wide palaeogeographic range of this taxon.     

Xinjiangoxylon Gen.Nov., a New Gymnosperm from the Latest Permian of China

Following the greatest known end-Permian mass extinction plants have low diversity. Lycopsids and conifers dominated on land. A new gymnosperm Xinjiangoxylon gen. nov. is proposed based on a woody stem specimen collected from the Upper Permian （latest, Changhsingian） Upper Guodikeng Formation of the Taoshuyuan section, Turpan, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Northwest China. The decorticated stem is characterized by a complex pith, endarch primary xylem and a thick secondary xylem cylinder. Numerous petrified woods were found in the Changhsingian at this section. However, there are rare wood fossils in the Early Triassic. The abrupt decrease of fossil woods worldwide relates to the crisis at the end of the Permian. Xinjiangoxylon turpanense gen et. sp. nov. appears to represents one gymnosperm that existed in the latest Permian.     

Effect of Zn deficiency and excessive bicarbonate on the allocation and exudation of organic acids in two Moraceae plants

The effect of zinc (Zn) deficiency and excessive bicarbonate on the allocation and exudation of organic acids in plant organs (root, stem, and leaf) and root exudates of two Moraceae plants (Broussonetia papyrifera and Morus alba) were investigated. Two Moraceae plants were hydroponically grown and cultured in nutrient solution in four different treatments with 0.02 mM Zn or no Zn, combined with no or 10 mM bicarbonate. The variations of organic acids in different plant organs were similar to those of root exudates in the four treatments except B. papyrifera, which was in a treatment that was a combination of 0.02 mM Zn and no bicarbonate. The response characteristics in the production, translocation, and allocation of organic acids in the plant organs and root exudates varied with species and treatments. Organic acids in plant organs and root exudates increased under Zn-deficient conditions, excessive bicarbonate, or both. An increase of organic acids in the leaves resulted in an increase of root-exuded organic acids. B. papyrifera translocated more oxalate and citrate from the roots to the rhizosphere than M. alba under the dual influence of 10 mM bicarbonate and Zn deficiency. Organic acids of leaves may be derived from dark respiration and photorespiration. By comparison, organic acids in stems, roots, and root exudates may be derived from dark respiration and organic acid translocation from the leaves. These results provide evidence for the selective adaptation of plants to environments with low Zn levels or high bicarbonate levels such as a karst ecosystem.     

The Early Cretaceous megaflora of the Springhill Formation,Patagonia. Paleofloristic and Paleonvironmental inferences

The Springhill Formation (Lower Cretaceous) is considered as one of the most important oil producer units within the Austral Basin in Argentina. However, knowledge regarding this formation's plant community composition is still very scarce. In this work a thorough survey of the outcrops of the Springhill Formation was conducted regarding both geological and palaeobotanical aspects. Abundant fossil plant material was collected at the Estancia El Salitral and Río Correntoso localities in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, consisting primarily of compressions of leafy shoots with several branching orders, completely to partially preserved fronds, simple to pinnate leaves and fertile scales. Analysis of these materials made it possible to describe 20 new taxa which add to the already known flora of the Springhill Formation; nine of these taxa were found in Estancia El Salitral, and the remaining 11 were found in Río Correntoso. The floristic diversity of the unit has increased through the discovery of the first megafossils of ginkgophytes (Baiera sp. 1 and Baiera? sp. 2), whereas new taxa have been described within the divisions of Pteridophyta, Pteridospermophyta, Cycadophyta and Pinophyta. Analysis of the vegetative and reproductive epidermal structures of the various groups included within this megaflora has been demonstrated to be a valuable tool for the recognition and differentiation of species. Analysis has also made it possible to suggest paleoenvironmental inferences. Finally, the megaflora from the Springhill Formation was compared to other relevant plant assemblages from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Gondwana. The megaflora was determined to be most similar to that of the well-known Patagonian Anfiteatro de Ticó Formation and most different from that of the Brazilian Crato Formation.     

The evolution of lithospheric mantle beneath the Kalahari Craton and its margins

The compositional structure and thermal state of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the Kalahari Craton and the surrounding mobile belts have been mapped in space and time using >3400 garnet xenocrysts from >50 kimberlites intruded over the period 520–80 Ma. The trace-element patterns of many garnets reflect the metasomatic refertilisation of originally highly depleted harzburgites and lherzolites, and much of the lateral and vertical heterogeneity observed in the SCLM within the craton is the product of such metasomatism. The most depleted, and possibly least modified, SCLM was sampled beneath the Limpopo Belt by early Paleozoic kimberlites; the SCLM beneath other parts of the craton may represent similar material modified by metasomatism during Phanerozoic time. In the SW part of the craton, the SCLM sampled by “Group 2” kimberlites (>110 Ma) is thicker, cooler and less metasomatised than that sampled by “Group 1” kimberlites (mostly ≤95 Ma) in the same area. Therefore, the extensively studied xenolith suite from the Group 1 kimberlites probably is not representative of primary Archean SCLM compositions. The relatively fertile SCLM beneath the mobile belts surrounding the craton is interpreted as largely Archean SCLM, metasomatised and mixed with younger material during Paleoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic rifting and compression. This implies that at least some of the observed secular evolution in SCLM composition worldwide may reflect the reworking of Archean SCLM. There are strong correlations between mantle composition and the lateral variations in seismic velocity shown by detailed tomographic studies. Areas of relatively low Vp within the craton largely reflect the progressive refertilisation of the Archean root during episodes of intraplate magmatism, including the Bushveld (2 Ga) and Karroo (ca. 180 Ma) events; areas of high Vp map out the distribution of relatively less metasomatised Archean SCLM. The relatively low Vp of the SCLM beneath the mobile belts around the craton is consistent with its fertile composition. The seismic data may be used to map the lateral extent of different types of SCLM, taking into account the small lateral variations in the geotherm identified using the techniques described here.     

广东四会优质沙糖桔产地生态地球化学特征

四会地区是中国重要的沙糖桔产区,重点对威整和地豆两处沙糖桔园进行了生态地球化学调查。采集了沙糖桔园表层至底层土壤、出露的代表性基岩、沙糖桔叶和果实样品,实测了营养、有益和有害元素以及土壤营养元素有效态的含量。通过分析得出:(1)优质沙糖桔产区植物营养、有益元素含量适宜,重金属元素中Cd、Cr、Hg等的含量符合无公害水果产地环境要求;(2)在土壤—沙糖桔生态系统中,大多数有益、营养元素从深部到表层的变化规律具有相似性;(3)沙糖桔各器官(叶、果皮、果实)中,元素大多在叶中较为富集,有害元素在果实中富集较小,大多数营养元素在果皮中较果肉中富集;(4)成土母质以砂岩及花岗岩发育而成的赤红壤较适宜,尤以砂岩为母质的土壤更好。     

Nine requirements for the origin of Earth's life:Not at the hydrothermal vent,but in a nuclear geyser system

The origin of life on Earth remains enigmatic with diverse models and debates.Here we discuss essential requirements for the first emergence of life on our planet and propose the following nine requirements:(1)an energy source(ionizing radiation and thermal energy);(2)a supply of nutrients(P.K.REE.etc.);(3)a supply of life-constituting major elements;(4)a high concentration of reduced gases such as CH_4,HCN and NH_3;(5)dry-wet cycles to create membranes and polymerize RNA;(6)a non-toxic aqueous environment;(7)Na-poor water;(8)highly diversified environments,and(9)cyclic conditions,such as dayto-night,hot-to-cold etc.Based on these nine requirements,we evaluate previously proposed locations for the origin of Earth's life,including:(1)Darwin's "warm little pond",leading to a "prebiotic soup" for life;(2)panspermia or Neo-panspermia(succession model of panspermia);(3)transportation from/through Mars;(4)a deepsea hydrothermal system;(5)an on-land subduct ion-zone hot spring,and(6)a geyser systems driven by a natural nuclear reactor.We conclude that location(6)is the most ideal candidate for the o rigin point for Earth's life because of its efficiency in continuously supplying both the energy and the necessary materials for life,thereby maintaining the essential "cradle" for its initial development.We also emphasize that falsifiable working hypothesis provides an important tool to evaluate one of the biggest mysteries of the universe-the origin of life.     

基于交叉小波的天山乌鲁木齐河出山径流多尺度特征研究

运用连续小波对新疆天山北坡的乌鲁木齐河上游1958-2006年的月均气温(MMT)、月降水量(MP)和月均径流量(MMR)变化进行了多时间尺度特征分析. 结果表明：1960—2005年月均气温、月降水量和月均径流量三者始终存在着12个月左右尺度的主周期,并呈现出全局性特征,信号的强弱依次为MMT、MP 和MMR;同时,MMT存在66个月和96个月的次周期,MP存在6个月、30个月和72个月的次周期,MMR亦存在6个月、24个月、36个月和72个月的次周期. 在此基础上,对其进行交叉小波分析后发现,MMR与MMT、MP的相关程度除了表现为12个月的主周期和6个月的次周期外,MMT对MMR的影响还表现在34个月和72个月的次周期上,而MP对MMR的影响也表现在24个月、36个月和72个月的次周期上. MMT对MMR的影响除了12个月的主周期表现为正相关外,6个月的周期相位亦存在正负交错的现象,说明在该尺度上MMT对MMR的影响既有正面的也有负面的;MMT对MMR的影响在其他次周期上均表现为负相关或近似负相关;而MP对MMR的影响在主次周期上均表现为显著的正相关.     

云南腾冲新近系樟科润楠属两种化石及其古环境意义

角质层微细构造特征是化石植物鉴定的重要依据,实验研究了云南腾冲新近系樟科润楠属薄叶润楠Machilus leptophylla和长梗润楠(近似种)Machilus cf. longipedicellata两个化石种的表皮微细构造特征,并与现存对应种类进行了表皮构造和叶结构特征的对比分析,补充证实了两化石种均属于自然分类属性。丰富了我国樟科润楠属化石记录。鉴于大气CO2浓度与植物叶片气孔指数呈负相关关系,Machilus叶片可以作为大气CO2浓度的生物指示器。研究表明,利用该类化石叶片气孔参数可推测地史时期古大气CO2浓度,揭示了新近纪滇西地区为温暖湿润性气候。