Qin Leng

• Dr
• Bryant University

Quantifying past temperature changes during the Common Era (the past 2000 years) is essential for assessing the rates, magnitudes, and consequences of different climate forcings on current warming and projecting future climate change. At present, however, the quantitative evaluation of temperature changes at multi-centennial-to-millennial timescale...

Mosses form a diverse land plant group in modern vegetation but have rarely showed up in the fossil record compared with vascular plants. Here, we report an extraordinarily-preserved early Miocene moss fossil from the lower Laoliangdi Formation in the Pingzhuang Coal Mine in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China. Although lackin...

The human society is facing growing flood risks due to the rapidly-changing global climate. Understanding how early human coped with flooding will shed light on the increase of contemporary social resilience to projected intensified extreme climate change. However, assessment of such ancient human response to hydrological changes remains difficult...

Plant materials used in the construction of segments and beacon towers of the ancient Great Wall in northwestern China contain untapped potential for revealing local paleoclimatic and environmental conditions. For the first time, we characterize the molecular preservation and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of AMS-dated common reeds...

Plain Language Summary Numerous sea surface temperature (SST) records indicate long‐term gradual cooling over the Pleistocene, whereas the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) appears to have strengthened during this period. Land‐sea thermal contrast is thought to have an important influence on the intensity of the EASM, but the lack of land surface te...

The early Miocene (~ 16–23 Ma) marks a critical transition in the Earth climate history from an Oligocene (~ 23–34 Ma) cooling trend towards the well-documented warm middle Miocene Climate Optimum at ~ 15 Ma. In eastern Asia, this transition links changes of key topographic features, such as the Tibetan plateau and the Mongolian plateau, and their...

Sedimentary deposits yielding extraordinarily-preserved fossils (known as Lagerstätten) may provide significant insights into the physiology and environments of ancient plants, particularly when the fossils represent their original characteristics with limited diagenetic modifications. To better understand molecular, isotopic, and morphological cha...

Leaf gas-exchange models are increasingly used to reconstruct ancient atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. One of these widely used models, the Franks model, requires stomatal size (guard cell width and either guard cell length or pore length), whole-leaf stomatal density, and bulk-leaf carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) from plant fossi...

The world-renowned Miocene Clarkia paleolake in northern Idaho (USA) is closely associated with Columbia River Basalt Group volcanism. The flood basalt dammed a local drainage system to form the paleolake, which preserved a plant fossil Lagerstätte in its deposits. However, the precise age and temporal duration of the lake remain unsettled. We pres...

During the Paleogene, the Earth experienced a global greenhouse climate, which was much warmer and more humid than the present climate. The present global warming is ascribed to increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 caused by human activity since the industrial revolution; therefore, knowledge of the role of atmospheric CO2 in the thermal climate du...

The hydrogen isotopic compositions (δD) of long-chain plant leaf waxes can reflect changes of continental hydrology and thus have been increasingly utilized for paleoclimate reconstruction. One of the unresolved major issues is whether variations of leaf wax δD (δDwax) signals along a precipitation gradient reflect changes of precipitation δD, prec...

Six Tsuga ovuliferous/seed cone impression fossils were discovered from the late Eocene (34.6 ± 0.8 Ma) Lawula Formation in Mangkang County, eastern Tibet and the early Oligocene (32 ± 1 Ma) lacustrine deposits in Lühe Basin, Nanhua County, Yunnan Province. These two fossil sites are both located in southwestern China, ∼800 km apart from each other...

The complicity of long-term land surface temperature (LST) changes has been under investigated and less understood, hindering our understanding of the history and mechanism of terrestrial climate change. Here, we report the longest (800 thousand years) LSTs based on distributions of soil fossil bacterial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers preser...

Hydrogen isotopic compositions (δD) of fatty acids (FAs) in lake sediments have been widely used in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, but investigations on FA δD values in algae and submerged plants from natural lakes are still limited, greatly hampering the application and interpretation of their δD values in lacustrine environments. Here, we sy...

Two new species of Nilssoniopteris of the order Bennettitales, Nilssoniopteris hamiensis Zhao and Deng, new species and Nilssoniopteris crassiaxis Zhao and Deng, new species, are established from the Xishanyao Formation (Middle Jurassic) of Sandaoling Coal Mine in Hami, Xinjiang, China, based on leaf macromorphology and cuticular features. Nilssoni...

The world-renowned middle Miocene Clarkia lacustrine deposits (15.4–16.0 Ma) in northern Idaho, United States, known as Fossil Lagerstätten, yield extraordinary fossils that preserve in situ ancient biomolecules and organic biomarkers. The sudden formation of the Clarkia Lake basin by means of the Columbia River Basalt damming the proto–St. Maries...

The prosperity of Neolithic rice agriculture along the Yangtze River Valley (China) under the humid East Asian Monsoon has been well documented. However, the way in which major hydrological changes influenced the expansion of rice farming remains elusive, mainly because detailed climate records associated with critical periods of the development of...

The carbon isotope composition (δ13C values) of long chain n-alkanes in lake sediments has been considered a reliable means of tracking changes in the terrigenous contribution of plants with C3 and C4 photosynthetic pathways. A key premise is that long chain leaf wax components used for isotope analysis are derived primarily from terrigenous higher...

The extant genus Paliurus Miller is divided into P. ramosissimus and P. spina-christi groups and is diagnostically characterized by distinctive orbicular-winged fruits with a trilocular (or often bilocular) ovary and basally triveined leaves with a subentire to serrate margin. Here, structurally preserved winged fruits and associated compressed lea...

Pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) analysis of Neolithic (4900-3800 BC) archeological rice grains (husked rice fruit) from the Tianluoshan site (Zhejiang Province, eastern China) revealed no polysaccharide products from starch present in the original rice fruit; however, benzene, toluene, dimethyl benzene, phenol, dimethyl ph...

The Geobiodiversity Database (GBDB - www.geobiodiversity.com), an integrated system for the management and analysis of stratigraphic and paleontological information, was started in 2006 and became available online in 2007. Its goal is to facilitate regional and global scientific collaborations focused on regional and global correlation, quantitativ...

The molecular preservation of exceptionally preserved conifer needles from middle Miocene and Pliocene deposits on Banks Island, Canada, was investigated using pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). Solvent-extracted residues from Miocene Larix, Glyptostrobus, and Pinus, Pliocene Picea, and their associated bulk material, yielde...

The origin and evolution of angiosperms can be unravelled by using fossil records to determine first occurrences and phytogeographic histories of plant families and genera. Many angiosperm families, for example the Onagraceae, have a poor macrofossil record, but are more common in palynological records. Modern Onagraceae produce pollen clearly dist...

The plant genus Metasequoia Miki, 1941 and its sole living relict species Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng, 1948 have been of special interest for both the public and scientists since 1941 when the genus was established. Due to its unique discovery history (fossils discovered earlier than the living species) and incomparable scientific valu...

The molecular hydrogen isotope composition (δD) of leaf waxes from terrestrial plants is increasingly used to infer hydrological characteristics of ancient high latitude climates. Analysis of the hydrogen isotope composition of n-alkanes (δDn-alkane) from a global dataset of individual plants growing at low and middle latitudes indicates that plant...

Leaf cuticle analysis has long been a powerful tool for fossil plant identification, systematics, and palaeoclimatological recon-struction. In recent decades the application of stomatal frequency data that are relied on precise calculation of stomata on plant fossil cuticles to reconstruct ancient atmospheric CO2 concentration made the preparation...

Our understanding of both the role and impact of Arctic environmental changes under the current global warming climate is rather limited despite efforts of improved monitoring and wider assessment through remote sensing technology. Changes of Arctic ecosystems under early Paleogene warming climate provide an analogue to evaluate long-term responses...

Reconstruction of ancient atmospheric conditions through the analysis of precipitation patterns is a novel endeavor in the study of paleoclimate. A new approach is now available for a quantitative reconstruction of Paleogene atmospheric hydrological conditions in High Arctic. It is based on 1) the discovery of exceptionally-preserved Paleogene plan...

Molecular hydrogen isotope analysis preformed on modern and fossil plants has made a significant impact on diverse research fields in biology and geology. Using living and fossil Metasequoia as an example, we review the technology of online GC-IRMS that made the molecular analysis of hydrogen isotope possible and discuss critical issues concerning...

Analysis of modern Metasequoia leaves revealed the presence of the structural polyester cutin, guaiacyl lignin units and polysaccharides. Analysis of environmentally decayed Metasequoia leaves revealed that guaiacyl lignin units and cellulose were degraded more than vinyl phenol (the last being the primary pyrolysis product of cutin and plant cutic...

The effect of low intensity continuous light, e.g., in the High Arctic summer, on plant carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionations is unknown. We conducted greenhouse experiments to test the impact of light quantity and duration on both carbon and hydrogen isotope compositions of three deciduous conifers whose fossil counterparts were components of...

Based on new census surveys recently performed by local government representatives, as well as two complementary and expanded expeditions conducted in 1997 and 2004, we present an updated database of the distribution of known native Metasequoia glyptostroboides trees in an area formed by western Hubei, eastern Chongqing, and northern Hunan in south...

Labile biomolecules, such as carbohydrates and fatty acids, are rarely preserved in the pre-Quaternary geological record and were traditionally thought to play a nonsupportive role in the preservation of morphological structures during the process of fossilization. We document the in situ preservation of polysaccharides and cutin acids in late Pale...

Typical angiosperm dicot leaves are discovered closely associated with reproductive organs of Sinocarpus decussatus from the Yixian Formation, NE China. Leaves are of first rank, small, with fine texture, and with distinct petiole and lamina. Venation pattern is craspedodromous, of at least three discrete orders of veins irregularly arranged. Leaf...

Eight new species in seven new genera of follicular fruits are described from the Late Cretaceous of southern Sweden. They are Agapitocarpus emisxus, Chontrocarpus pachytoichus, Maiandrocarpus moirasmenus, Malliocarpus batrachoides, Mitocarpus elegans, Xylocarpus rhitidoides, Zeugarocarpus adroagathus and Z. leptoagathus. The fossil follicles are b...

We compared structural biopolymers from morphologically well-preserved Metasequoia tissues from three Tertiary deposits and detected a continuum of biochemical preservation seen in this evolutionarily conserved conifer. Pyrolysis-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (Py-GC–MS) was applied to solvent-extracted residues from both fossil leaf and wood...

The recent discovery of two distinct cuticle types, Uneven Type and Even Type, within the native population of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu et Cheng has prompted re-evaluation of the taxonomic utility of cuticle characters in both living and fossil Metasequoia Miki. The result is a comprehensive review of the existing data and methods used in th...

The degradation and preservation of biomolecules in plant tissues not only affects the inference on paleoecology of ancient plants but also bears significance in the interpretation of paleoenvironmental signals. Using a combined SEM and geochemical approach, we are able to show the source, liability, and preservation of structural biopolymers from...

An Early Cretaceous angiosperm, Sinocarpus decussatus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China, based on an infructescence fragment. It is probably ebracteate, consisting of one terminal fruit and two pairs of pedicellate lateral fruits arranged decussately. Carpels are probably borne on a small convex receptacle....

With molecular analyses indicating that angiosperms are not closely related to any other extant seed plant group, information from fossils might provide the only basis for reconstructing their origin. Therefore the description of a new Early Cretaceous angiosperm, Archaefructus, placed as the sister of all extant angiosperms, has created much debat...

Despite of the recent influx of reports describing important fossil specimens from the Mesozoic Jehol Biota, detailed information on the mechanism of fossilization and paleoenvironment in which these fossils were deposited is scanty. We present an analysis of microenvironment based upon scanning electron microscope observations of in situ pyrite fr...

Leaf cuticle micromorphology of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W. C. Cheng was studied with SEM using samples collected from its natural population in south-central China and cultivated trees in Nanjing City. The cuticle characters from both natural and cultivated trees living in different environments allowed us to re-evaluate taxonomic values...

Leaf cuticle micromorphology of Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & W. C. Cheng was studied with SEM using samples collected from its natural population in south-central China and cultivated trees in Nanjing City. The cuticle characters from both natural and cultivated trees living in different environments allowed us to re-evaluate taxonomic values...

A revision of Quercus miocrispula Huzioka (subsection Diversipilosae of the section Lepidobalanus) is based on a study of extensive collections of well preserved leaves from the Miocene Daotaiqiao Formation of Huanan County, Heilongjiang Province, China. The leaves vary considerably in gross morphological characters, but are congruent in the fine v...

A flora containing both plant microfossils and megafossils has been reported from four placer gold wells in Huanan County, Heilongjiang Province of north-east China. Most of the pollen and megafossil plants are in common. Families Fagaceae, Betulaceae and Pinaceae are abundant in this fossil flora which probably implies a mixed conifer and deciduou...