Some conifers from Aptian in Yanbian area of jilin,Northeast China

Some well-preserved conifer leafy shoots and female cones from the Lower Cretaceous Changcai Formation near Fudong of Helong, eastern Jilin, Northeast China are studied. Based on gross morphological and cuticular study, a new species, Elatides helongensis Sun et Zhao (sp. nov.) is described systematically. The new species is characterized by persistent, linear or slightly falcate leaves with obtusely acute apex, attached helically on the shoots. Female cones of the new species are terminal and oval, composed of persistent helically-arranged rhomboidal scales and erect seeds. One erect seed is growing on each scale. Leaf cuticles are hypostomatic. Monocylic stomata are ellipse, composed of 2 sunken guard cells and 4-8 subsidiary cells. Moreover, the cuticles of a young female cone of Pityostrobus yingchengensis Yang are described for the first time.     

A Holocene record of Neotropical savanna dynamics from El Salvador

The historical ecology of the Ahuachapan savanna is reconstructed from a 4.83-m sediment core from Laguna Llano del Espino, Ahuachapan, western El Salvador. Stable carbon isotopes (¹³C), pollen, and charred grass cuticles indicate Holocene grassland dominance from at least ca. 3300 cal yr B.P. to the present. The role of people in the creation and maintenance of Central American savannas is considered in light of the paleoecological record. The data suggest that pre-Columbian inhabitants of western El Salvador suppressed shrub and tree encroachment via frequent burning from ca. 2500 to 500 cal yr. B.P. A substantial increase in woody taxa (Mimosoideae, Urticales) and a decrease in biomass burning are evident in the pollen and charcoal records beginning around the time of the first European contact (ca 500 cal yr B.P.). Evidence for frequent burning and grassland dominance before the arrival of the Europeans, followed by shrub and tree encroachment amid a near absence of fire after contact, suggests that the openness of the Ahuachapan savanna was maintained by the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Rio Paz Valley throughout the late Holocene.     

Quercus yangyiensis sp.nov.from the Late Pliocene of Baoshan,Yunnan and Its Paleoclimatic Significance

A new Quercus （Fagaceae） morphospecies is described based on well-preserved fossil leaves.The fossils were collected from Yangyi Formation of the Upper Pliocene at the Yangyi coalmine,Baoshan,western Yunnan,China.Details of the microstructure of mesophyll tissue are preserved because lithification of the fossils was not complete.The fossil laminas possess typical characteristics of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus：quite thick and coriaceous cuticle; secondary veins bifurcating near the margin in the middle and top of the leaf; and upper epidermis with adaxial hypodermis.Based on a detailed morphological and anatomical comparison with all living and fossil species of Quercus sect.Heterobalanus,the fossil leaves prove to be different in their sparse and garland-shaped multicellular trichomes on the lower epidermis,and so it is described as a new species Quercus yangyiensis He,Li et Sun sp.nov.The much sparser trichomes of our fossils compare well with those of living Quercus sect.Heterobalanus and indicate a more humid climate during the deposition of the Yangyi Formation in the Late Pliocene.     

浙东新近纪一种栎属植物化石微细特征及其古环境指示

归于壳斗科栎属的一种植物化石黄毛青冈(亲缘种)Quercusaff.delavayi Franch采于浙江天台中新统下南山组。该化石不仅具有与现生黄毛青冈Quercus delavayi Franch相似的叶形态结构,而且两者表皮微细构造亦颇为一致,宏观和微观特征表明,当前材料与现生黄毛青冈具有一定的亲缘关系。通过研究不同时间、不同地点现生黄毛青冈的表皮微细特征,发现黄毛青冈毛基的个体发育重演了青冈亚属毛基的系统演化。进一步比较化石与现生材料的毛基参数及其他表皮特征,推论浙江天台中新世的古气候较现在温暖湿润,根据现生与化石黄毛青冈气孔比率计算出浙江天台中新世古大气CO2体积分数为(395.22±5.61)×10-6。     

Effect of incubating plant cuticles in soil on their sorptive capabilities

Sorption and desorption are the major processes influencing the fate of hydrophobic organic compounds （HOCs） in soils. Among the natural sorbents in the environment, soil organic matter （SOM） plays a significant role in the overall sorption of many organic compounds. Recently, several reports have emphasized the role of aliphatic-rich sorbents in the binding of HOCs. The main source of aliphatic compounds for SOM is biopolymers derived from above- and below-ground plant cuticular matter. The plant cuticle is a thin layer of predominantly lipid material that covers all primary aerial surfaces of vascular plants. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of decomposition and transformation of plant cuticles on their sorption behavior with triazine herbicides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （PAHs）. Sorption-desorption behavior was studied during 12 months of incubation of cuticles isolated from tomato fruits and pummelo leaves in sandy soil. Sorption and desorption experiments and spectroscopic and chemical analyses were performed using the samples after 0, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of incubation. The decomposition of the cuticles （46-49% after 12 months） did not affect the organic carbon-normalized Freundlich distribution coefficient （KFOC） for the PAHs. In addition, throughout the incubation period, the two PAHs exhibited linear and reversible sorption isotherms with both cuticles. However, the isotherms of the triazines were significantly affected by the decomposition of the cuticles from pummelo leaves, whereas only minor changes were recorded for the tomato cuticle samples. For the microcosm with cuticles from the pummelo leaves, the KFOC values of the triazines increased with increasing decomposition.     

中国泥盆纪煤有机地球化学特征

中国泥盆纪煤是形成于特定地质历史条件的特种煤，因而具有独特的地球化学特征：显微组成以富含角质体为特征；可溶有机质含量高于泥岩，低于正常腐植煤；芳烃中含丰富的多环芳烃，并检测出芳香倍半萜和芳香二萜及芳香断藿烷；热模拟表明角质体在R0达到0．95％时达到生烃高峰；丰富的四环二萜化合物随成熟度增加，由环状化合物裂解为链状烷烃。     

Cuticles and Spores in Situ of Coniopteris hymenophylloides from the Middle Jurassic in Gansu,Northwestern China

Coniopteris was a ubiquitous plant of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods and played an important role in the flora of the time. However, its anatomical structure is relatively poorly known. The specimens of Coniopteris hymenophylloides(Brongniart) Seward described here were collected from the Yaojie Formation in Gansu Province, northwestern China. The sterile fronds are characterized as being at least bipinnate with alternate arranged linear pinnae covered by thin cuticles. Fertile fronds are linear-lanceolate, with single sorus at the margin of each fertile pinnule. In situ spores are typically trilete, triangle to subcircular in polar view, cap-shaped in equatorial view, and 37 μm in average diameter. The trilete marking is straight and narrow, generally extends to 4/5 of the spore radius. The spore surface is smooth, and parts of the exine are granulated. The epidermal cells of cuticles are irregular in shape, approximately 40-60μm long and 10-20 μm wide. The elliptical stomatal complexes are paracytic,approximately 30 μm long and 19 μm wide,and irregularly distributed. On the basis of its epidermal structures and comparisons with extant ferns, we consider that Coniopteris displays combined features of the related extant genera.     

软玉子料黑皮和褐皮的致色物测试

黑皮、褐皮是软玉子料的常见皮色。文章通过岩石薄片、电子探针、差热分析等多种手段测试,综合判定软玉子料的褐皮是含褐铁矿所致,黑皮是含褐铁矿加有机质所致,这为软玉子料鉴定提供了依据,对子料成因研究也有重要意义。     

Ginkgo from Lower Cretaceous Changcai Formation in Helong of Jilin, NE China

Based on gross morphological and cuticular study, two species of Ginkgo From the Lower Cretaceous Changcai Formation in Helong of Jilin. were identified from this area for the first time, including Ginkgo coriacea Florin and G.sibiricaHeer. The study is significant for better understanding the paleophytogeographic, paleoecologicandstratigraphic characters of the Early Cretaceous Changcai flora.     

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。