Origin and early diversification of vascular plants: integrating evidence from the plant megafossil and dispersed spore fossil records

维管束植物的起源和早期多样化：整合植物巨型化石和分散孢子化石记录的证据

• 批准号: NE/E006612/1
• 负责人: Charles Wellman
• 金额: $ 17.9万
• 依托单位: University of Sheffield
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FE006612%2F1
• 关键词: Origin; early; diversification; vascular; plants

For most of earth history the continents were essentially barren. Even following the Cambrian explosion, when the oceans began to teem with complex animal life, nothing lived on the planet surface. Eventually, some 460 million years ago, the first land plants evolved. For the first time photosynthesizing plants grew on the land surface. This was a monumental event in the history of life on earth for three main reasons:- (i) It represented the evolution of the third kingdom of multicellular life (plants joined the fungi and animals). (ii) It paved the way for other organisms to invade the land, including the worms, insects and finally, our direct ancestors (the first amphibians). (iii) It had a dramatic effect on the environment of planet earth, altering atmospheric composition and climate, patterns of soil formation, erosion, weathering, sedimentation etc. The aim of this research project is to shed light on the invasion of the land by plants through the study of fossil plants. It will concentrate on lycopsids. These are the most primitive group of living plants, and include some familiar plants such as Lycopodium (clubmosses) and Selaginella. The lycopsids have a rich fossil record stretching back more than 400 million years. The fossils occur either as whole plants (megafossils) or spores that were released by the plants during life (dispersed spores). Megafossils are rare and interpreting their fossil record is difficult. Fortunately, however, plants produce and release hundreds of thousands of minute spores during a lifetime. These spores are widely dispersed by the wind before either landing on damp,fertile soil and growing into a new plant, or more commonly, being deposited in lakes, rivers or the sea. The later become incorporated into sediments and are easily fossilized. Thus we can dissolve up ancient lake, river and marine deposits and recover the spores produced by ancient plants. The aim of this project is to integrate the lycopsids megafossil and dispersed spore fossil records to shed light on the invasion of the land by plants. Newly discovered lycopsid megafossils that still contain spores (in situ spores) will be studied to characterise the nature of lycopsid spores (this will be done in conjunction with a study of spore characters in living lycopsids). We will then examine the rich dispersed spore record to ascertain when the first lycopsids evolved, how they diversified (through evolution) and spread across the continents. This will also supply a spatial/temporal template for understanding the complex environmental changes that occurred as the early vegetation evolved and spread, hopefully shedding light on issues concerned with current global change.

在地球历史的大部分时间里，大陆基本上是贫瘠的。即使在寒武纪大爆发之后，当海洋开始充满复杂的动物生命时，地球表面也没有任何生物。最终，大约4.6亿年前，第一批陆地植物进化出来。光合作用植物第一次在陆地表面生长。这是地球生命史上的一个里程碑事件，主要有三个原因：-（i）它代表了多细胞生命的第三王国的进化（植物加入了真菌和动物）。(ii)它为其他生物入侵这片土地铺平了道路，包括蠕虫、昆虫，最后是我们的直系祖先（第一批两栖动物）。(iii)它对地球的环境产生了巨大的影响，改变了大气成分和气候，土壤形成，侵蚀，风化，沉积等模式。本研究项目的目的是通过研究植物化石来阐明植物对土地的入侵。它将集中在石松类。这些是最原始的植物群，包括一些熟悉的植物，如石松（石松）和卷柏。石松类有着丰富的化石记录，可以追溯到4亿多年前。这些化石要么以整个植物（巨化石）的形式出现，要么以植物在生命过程中释放的孢子（分散孢子）的形式出现。巨化石是罕见的，解释它们的化石记录是困难的。然而，幸运的是，植物一生中会产生和释放数十万个微小的孢子。这些孢子被风广泛传播，然后降落在潮湿，肥沃的土壤上并长成新植物，或者更常见的是，沉积在湖泊，河流或海洋中。后者被结合到沉积物中，很容易被石化。因此，我们可以溶解古老的湖泊、河流和海洋沉积物，恢复古代植物产生的孢子。这个项目的目的是整合石松类的大化石和分散的孢子化石记录，以阐明植物入侵土地的原因。将研究新发现的仍含有孢子（原位孢子）的石松类大化石，以确定石松类孢子的性质（这将与活石松类孢子特征的研究结合进行）。然后，我们将研究丰富的分散孢子记录，以确定第一个石松科植物是何时进化的，它们是如何多样化的（通过进化）并在大陆上传播的。这也将提供一个空间/时间的模板，了解复杂的环境变化发生的早期植被的演变和蔓延，希望与当前的全球变化有关的问题。

项目成果

Chapter 29 Palaeophytogeography of Ordovician-Silurian land plants

第29章奥陶纪-志留纪陆地植物古植物地理学

• DOI: 10.1144/m38.29
• 发表时间: 2013
• 期刊: Geological Society, London, Memoirs
• 作者: Wellman C

Early Palaeozoic

早古生代

• 发表时间: 2014
• 作者: Harper, D. A. T.;Servais, T.
• 通讯作者: Servais, T.

Morphology and Wall Ultrastructure of the Devonian Spore Acinosporites macrospinosus Richardson 1965 and Its Bearing on the Origin of the Megaspore Apical Prominence

• DOI: 10.1086/720388
• 发表时间: 2022-04
• 期刊: International Journal of Plant Sciences
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: C. Wellman

ULTRASTRUCTURE OF ENIGMATIC PHYTOCLASTS (BANDED TUBES) FROM THE SILURIAN-LOWER DEVONIAN: EVIDENCE FOR AFFINITIES AND ROLE IN EARLY TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS

志留系-下泥盆统神秘植物碎屑（带状管）的超微结构：早期陆地生态系统中亲缘关系和作用的证据

• DOI: 10.2110/palo.2008.p08-046r
• 发表时间: 2009
• 期刊: PALAIOS
• 影响因子: 1.6
• 作者: TAYLOR W