Study On The Late Carboniferous And Early Permian Flora And Palaeoecology Of Hulusitai Area In Inner Mongolia

The plant fossils described and discussed in this paper were collected from Hulusitai area in Inner Mongolia. There are 25 species in 13 genera. These species are in different groups which comprise Lycopsida, Sphenopsida, Filices et Pteridospermopsida, Cordaitopsida and Seimina Gymnospermarum. The flora may be designated as Late Carboniferous and Early Permian in age and belongs to the Cathaysian flora. Base on the systematic analysis of the flora, the author has conducted the thorough research to the palaeoecology. The taphonomic types of the fossil plants are analyzed according to their states of preservation, sizes and characters. It is sure that most of them are autochthonous burial. Thus the characters of the floras could reflect the paleoecological environment. The fossil plants are divided into three plant assemblages according to the characteristics and the ranges of their vertical distribution in the strata, namely, the middle Late Carboniferous Lepidodendron subrhombicum-Paripteris kaipingiana Assemblage; the late Late Carboniferous Lepidodendron szeianum-Neuropteris ovata Assemblage; the early Early Permian Annularia orientalis - Pecopteris orientalis Assemblage. The author discusses the characteristics of the plant communities according to some aspects such as composition, the structure, the growing environment and so on.In this paper, emphasis is laid on the study of climate reconstruction. There is an approach used in this paper, which is Nearest-Living-Relatives-Method. Results of the study show that the dominant groups are Filices et Pteridospermopsida (40%) and Lycopsida (32%). The flora indicates a humid-warm close to tropical climate in Late Carboniferous and Early Permian. It also indicates a warming and drying climatic change as time goes by.To sum up, based on the collection and the analysis of the data on stratigraphy,paleontology, palaeoclimate, this paper gives a minute description of the palaeoecology and palaeoclimate durning the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian of Hulusitai in Inner Mongolia. Also, by the basic principle of"the present is the key to the past"and on the living conditions of the modern vegetation types, the author discusses the characteristics of the palaeoclimate. Therefore, the result and the using of the approach in this paper are quite useful and of great value for reference.