Response to paleoatmospheric CO₂ concentration of Solenites vimineus （Phillips） Harris （Ginkgophyta） from the Middle Jurassic of the Yaojie Basin, Gansu Province, China

摘要

Solenites vimineus (Phillips) Harris (Ginkgophyta) specimens with well-preserved cuticles were collected from five different beds in the oil shale member of the Middle Jurassic Yaojie Formation in the Yaojie Basin, Gansu Province, northwestern China. Gross morphology and fine structures of the fossil leaves were studied, and stomatal parameters were analyzed, according to which, the paleoatmospheric CO2 concentration can be deduced as 1512-1896 ppm that would have caused an increase in mean temperature of about 6.5-7.4℃. Carbon isotopes from the fossils indicate that the carbon isotopic discrimination and water use efficiency (WUE) of S. vimineus were raised nearly obtaining the ideal physiologic state in increased CO2 concentrations and temperature conditions, suggesting that S. vimineus records the paleoenvironmental information of the Middle Jurassic Yaojie Basin and can be used for environmental reconstruction.