The evolution of vegetation and biodiversity change during the Paleogene and early Neogene

亚洲季风系统是地球气候的一个主要特征，影响着世界上近一半的人口。季风还对该地区的动植物和生态系统产生了深远的影响。此外，中国的大部分地区也以其异常高的生物多样性而闻名。我们还知道，季风系统随着地质时间的推移而发生了变化，这与西藏和喜马拉雅山脉的发育密切相关，它们发生在古近纪(6600万至2300万年前)和新近纪早期(2300万年至300万年前)。最后我们知道，这段时间间隔也见证了这种现代植被模式的诞生。那么所有这些方面是如何联系在一起的呢？为什么中国的部分地区生物多样性如此之高？这些生态系统是什么时候发展起来的？这一切与青藏隆起和季风的演变有何联系？我们的项目旨在汇聚一批独特的世界领先的古生态学、地质学和气候模拟研究人员，以确定古近纪和新近纪早期生态变化的性质，并建立变化和阈值的潜在机制。我们将进行一系列三次实地考察，跨越来自西藏、云南和中国南部的中国内部的纬度和海拔梯度。这些实地考察将使我们能够收集有关生态系统和生物多样性变化的新信息。我们将能够评估变化的数量，并在几个关键地点确定变化是平稳的还是相对突然的，后者表明系统可能的阈值行为。我们还将使用这些数据重建对这些遗址的气候和古海拔的估计。然后，这些信息可用于帮助开发和测试气候、生态系统和生物多样性模型。这些模型将使我们能够确定在地质时期推动该地区变化的关键机制，以及生态系统和气候变化之间的相互作用。结果将是更全面地了解地球上生命的演变，也将使我们能够对用于未来气候变化预测的模型进行独特的评估。

The Asian monsoon system is a major feature of the Earths climate and impacts on almost half of the population of the world. The monsoon also has a profound effect on the regions flora, fauna and ecosystems. Moreover large parts of China are also noted for their exceptionally high biodiversity. We also know that the monsoon system has changed over geological time and this is intimately linked to the growth of Tibet and the Himalayas which occurred during the Paleogene (66 to 23 million years ago) and early Neogene (23 million years ago to 3 million years ago). And finally we know that this time interval also witnessed the birth of this modern vegetation patterns. So how are all of these aspects linked together. Why is biodiversity so high in parts of China? When did these ecosystems develop? And how is this all connected to Tibetan uplift and the evolution of the monsoon?Our project aims to bring together a unique group of world leading researchers in palaecology, geology and climate modelling to identify the nature of ecological change during the Paleogene and early Neogene and establish the underlying mechanism of changes and thresholds.We will do this with a series of three field trips to span the latitudinal and elevation gradients within China, from Tibet, Yunnan and S. China. These field trips will enable us to collect new information on the changes in ecosystem and biodiversity. We will be able to assess the amount of change, and in a few key sites identify whether the changes have been smooth or relatively abrupt, the latter indicating possible threshold behaviours of the system. We will also use this data to reconstruct estimates of the climate and palaeoelevation of the sites. This information can then be used to help develop and test climate, ecosystem, and biodiversity models. These models will allow us to identify the key mechanisms that have driven change in this region over geological time, and the interactions between the ecosystem and climate change.The outcomes will be a fuller understanding of the evolution of life on the planet, and will also enable a unique evaluation of the models used for future climate change projections.