在中國科學院南京地質(zhì)古生物研究所建所七十周年之際，國際權(quán)威學術(shù)期刊《古植物與古孢粉學評論》（Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology）本月出版了二疊紀“植物龐貝”研究專輯《Wuda Tuff Flora: A Permian peat-forming T⁰ fossil plant assemblage from Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia》，恭賀南京古生物所70華誕（Dedicated to the 70th Anniversury of Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS）。封面化石植物——華夏植物群代表瓢葉目聯(lián)合齒葉Tingia unita。 

二疊紀“植物龐貝”研究專輯封面（封面照片：華夏植物群的特有屬種Tingia unita）

整體植物復原照片，有節(jié)類Palaeostachya guanglongii

　　距今約3億年前，中國內(nèi)蒙古烏達煤田生長著一片生機盎然的沼澤森林。因一場意外的火山活動，這片森林被火山灰沉降作用定格在原地，這種保存方式與意大利“龐貝古城”頗為相似，故名“植物龐貝”。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)于2012年由中國科學院南京地質(zhì)古生物研究所王軍研究員發(fā)表在《美國科學院院報》（PNAS），引起了中外學者的廣泛關(guān)注，被譽為晚古生代陸地生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中一座重要的化石森林寶庫。 

　　二十余年來，南京地質(zhì)古生物所的科研人員對內(nèi)蒙古烏達煤田“植物龐貝”化石森林進行持續(xù)不斷發(fā)掘和探索，不僅獲得了詳盡的野外樣方數(shù)據(jù)，更積累了大量的植物化石標本。基于原地埋藏的保存狀況以及有機連生的標本積累，“植物龐貝”森林群落的物種構(gòu)成逐步明朗。很多以往僅靠印痕形態(tài)鑒定識別的化石屬種，隨著繁殖器官和解剖結(jié)構(gòu)的完善，都可以整體復原為自然種。與此同時，研究團隊還對該植物群落的地質(zhì)構(gòu)造、形成時代、埋藏過程、物種構(gòu)成及生態(tài)鏈條等多項背景信息進行全方位地研究。通過本專輯1篇前言及15篇研究論文，階段性展示“植物龐貝”的最新研究進展。主要包括： 

　　1）對“植物龐貝”的發(fā)現(xiàn)、挖掘和研究歷程進行了回顧，并對煤田中6、7號層煤四個植物群的埋藏、演替過程作詳細的復原（Wang J. et al., 2021a, preface）；2）對火山灰中的鋯石進行高精度的CA-ID-TIMS U/Pb定年，結(jié)果顯示“植物龐貝”的絕對年齡值在298.34±0.09 Ma，非常接近石炭二疊紀的界限（Schmitz et al., 2021）；3）對“植物龐貝”局部約80 m²的區(qū)域進行群落復原，通過該文章系統(tǒng)介紹項目組野外樣方調(diào)查和群落生態(tài)分析的方法（Oplu？til et al., 2021）；4）對“植物龐貝”群落多個類群的物種進行了細致、深入的系統(tǒng)分類研究，這其中包括石松類（D'Antonio et al., 2021）、有節(jié)類（Libertín et al., 2021; Liu et al., 2021）、種子蕨類（Zhou et al., 2021a）、前裸子植物瓢葉類（Wang J. et al., 2021b；Bek and Wang, 2021）、真蕨類（Wang S.J. et al., 2021; Wan et al., 2021; He et al., 2021; P？eni？ka et al., 2021; Voto？ková-Frojdová et al., 2021; Zhou et al., 2021b），植物生長型涉及喬木、草本及攀爬等多種類型；5）系統(tǒng)檢查“植物龐貝”的化石標本，在有節(jié)、真蕨、瓢葉和蘇鐵等多個植物類群中共發(fā)現(xiàn)有八種類型的昆蟲取食痕跡，揭示了森林群落中豐富的動-植物相互作用關(guān)系（Feng et al., 2021）。 

　　在良好的化石保存條件下，本專輯論文充分利用了當代古生物學實驗技術(shù)手段，發(fā)揮了團隊分工協(xié)作的共贏優(yōu)勢，體現(xiàn)了對“植物龐貝”多視角多領(lǐng)域的高質(zhì)量研究價值。“植物龐貝”未來更進一步的研究必將推動我們對于晚古生代多個植物類群早期起源、分類和演化的認識。更重要的是，它直接展示了二疊紀森林陸地生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的群落面貌以及復雜程度。 

　　本專輯由王軍研究員主導的由中國、美國、德國、英國、捷克等國內(nèi)外學者組成的“植物龐貝”研究團隊完成，相關(guān)研究得到了中國科學院戰(zhàn)略性先導科技專項（B類），國家自然科學基金以及現(xiàn)代古生物學與地層學國家重點實驗室的聯(lián)合資助。 

　　專輯相關(guān)信息：Jun Wang, Hermann W. Pfefferkorn, Stanislav Oplu？til, Hans Kerp，eds., 2021. Wuda Tuff Flora: A Permian peat-forming T0 fossil plant assemblage from Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. 

　　（https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/review-of-palaeobotany-and-palynology/vol/294/suppl/C） 

　　論文目錄： 

　　Wang, J., Pfefferkorn, H. W., Oplu？til, S., Kerp H., 2021. Permian “vegetational Pompeii”: A peat-forming in situ preserved forest from the Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China – Introduction to a volume of detailed studies. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104502. 

　　Schmitz, M. D., Pfefferkorn, H. W., Shen, S. Z., Wang, J., 2021. A volcanic tuff near the Carboniferous–Permian boundary, Taiyuan Formation, North China: Radioisotopic dating and global correlation. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104244. 

　　Oplu？til, S., Wang, J., Pfefferkorn, H. W., P？eni？ka, J., Bek, J., Libertín, M., Wan, M. L., He, X. Z., Yan, M. X., Wei, H. B., Voto？ková Frojdová, J., 2021. T0 Early Permian coal-forest preserved in situ in volcanic ash bed in the Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104347. 

　　D'Antonio, M. P. B., Boyce; C. K., Wang, J., 2021. Two new species of Sigillaria Brongniart from the Wuda Tuff (Asselian: Inner Mongolia, China) and their implications for lepidodendrid life history reconstruction. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104203. 

　　Liu, L., P？eni？ka, J., Bek, J., Wan, M. L., Pfefferkorn, H. W., Wang, J., 2021. A whole calamitacean plant Palaeostachya guanglongii from the Asselian (Permian) Taiyuan Formation in the Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104245. 

　　Libertín M., Bek J., Wang J., Oplu？til S., P？eni？ka J., Frojdová J.V., 2021. New data about three sphenophylls and their spores from the volcanic tuff of Wuda, Taiyuan Formation, earliest Permian, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104484. 

　　Wang, J., Wan, S., Kerp, H., Bek, J., Wang, S. J., 2021. A whole noeggerathialean plant Tingia unita Wang from the earliest Permian peat-forming flora, Wuda Coalfield, Inner Mongolia. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104204. 

　　Bek, J., Wang, J., 2021. A comparative study on in situ spores of some Paleozoic noeggerathialeans and their implications for dispersed spore assemblages. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104379. 

　　Wan, M. L., Sun, W. J., Bek, J., Liu, F., Hill, C., Wang, J., 2021. Scolecopteris minuta sp. nov., a marattialean fern from the early Permian Wuda Tuff Flora of Inner Mongolia, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104246. 

　　P？eni？ka, J., Wang, J., Bek, J., Pfefferkorn, H. W., Oplu？til, S., Zhou, W., Libertín, M., 2021. A zygopterid fern with fertile and vegetative parts in anatomical and compression preservation from the earliest Permian of Inner Mongolia, China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104382. 

　　Wang, S. J., Wang, J., Liu, L., Hilton, J., 2021. Stem diversity of the marattialean tree fern family Psaroniaceae from the earliest Permian Wuda Tuff Flora. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104378. 

　　He, X. Z., Zhou, W. M., Li, D. D., Wang, S. J., Hilton, J., Wang, J., 2021. A 298-million-year-old gleicheniaceous fern from China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104355. 

　　Voto？ková-Frojdová J., Wang J., P？eni？ka J., Bek J., Oplu？til, S., Libertín M., 2021. A new leptosporangiate fern Oligosporangiopteris zhongxiangii gen. and sp. nov. from the lowermost Permian of Inner Mongolia, China – morphology, anatomy and reproductive organs. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104479. 

　　Zhou, W. M., P？eni？ka, J., Bek, J., Wan, M. L., Boyce, C. K., Wang, J., 2021. A new anachoropterid fern from the Asselian (Cisuralian) Wuda Tuff Flora. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104346. 

　　Zhou, W. M., Wan, S., Wan, M. L., Hilton, J., P？eni？ka, J., Wang, J., 2021. Yangopteris ascendens (Halle) gen. et comb. nov., a climbing alethopterid pteridosperm from the Asselian (earliest Permian) Wuda Tuff Flora. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104282. 

　　Feng, Z., Wang, J., Zhou, W. M., Wan, M. L., P？eni？ka, J., 2021. Plant–insect interactions in the early Permian Wuda Tuff Flora, North China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 294, 104269.