The late Palaeozoic palaeotropics: Floral provincialism and evolutionary innovations - a palynological study

在二叠纪，可以区分出四个花卉省。混合植物区系具有两个或三个花卉省份(即华夏、冈瓦那、欧亚)的典型成分，在近东和中东已知。此外，最近在约旦上二叠统发现了典型的三叠纪冈德瓦元素。这表明，在二叠纪，古热带低地地区是中生代裸子植物的辐射中心。为了更好地了解不同植物区系省之间的复杂关系，以及在地球历史上最关键的时间段之一之前和期间陆地植物区系的演变，有必要在位于主要植物区系省交汇处的古热带地区进行详细的研究。由于孢粉记录比巨型植物记录的分辨率高得多，该项目将重点放在微型植物群上，从而集中在安纳托利亚；安纳托利亚东南部的组合似乎产生了混合的、非常丰富的和多样化的微型植物群，具有三个花卉省的典型元素和一些三叠纪元素。精选的中上二叠统剖面代表了约15°S至赤道之间的古潮汐。这项研究将为植物区系地方性的发展和主要裸子植物分支的早期起源提供新的线索，这些分支后来在二叠纪末期生物危机后成为中生代植物群的主要成分。

In the Permian four floral provinces can be distinguished. Mixed floras with elements typical for two or three floral provinces (i.e., Cathaysia, Gondwana, Euramerica) are known from the Near and Middle East. Moreover, typical Triassic Gondwanan elements have recently been found in the Upper Permian of Jordan. This suggests that, during the Permian, the palaeotropical lowland areas were a radiation centre for the Mesozoic gymnosperms. In order to better understand the complex relationships between the different floral provinces and the evolution of the land flora shortly before and during one of the most critical time intervals in Earth history, it is necessary to carry out a detailed study in a palaeotropical region situated at the intersection of major floral provinces. Because the palynological record has a much better resolution than the megafloral record, this project will focus on microfloras, thereby concentrating on Anatolia; assemblages from SE Anatolia appear to yield mixed, very rich and diverse microfloras with elements typical for three floral provinces and some Triassic elements. Selected Middle-Upper Permian sections represent palaeolatutides between c. 15°S and the equator. This study should shed new light of the development of floral provincialism and on early origins of major gymnosperm clades, which later, after the end-Permian biotic crisis, became dominant constituents of the Mesozoic flora.