European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference 2026

The Yangcaogou Flora, a well-preserved Upper Triassic plant assemblage from Western Liaoning, NE China, comprises 77 species in 34 genera and provides a window into East Asian terrestrial ecosystems within a Pangaea framework. We quantify its taxonomic diversity and regional heterogeneity to illuminate the tectonic, climatic, and biogeographic controls on vegetation in Late Triassic terrestrial ecosystems. The U–Pb zircon geochronology places deposition in the Norian–Rhaetian interval (~226 Ma), enabling robust cross-basin correlations. A comparative analysis between the Ordos and Yangcaogou Basins reveals pronounced regional differences in diversity. Our results highlight how tectonics, climate, and biogeography jointly sculpt East Asian Late Triassic ecosystems, and the co-occurrence of northern and southern floristic elements also indicates the unique climatic regimes in Pangaea, offering insights for reconstructing Late Triassic paleoclimates and paleogeography in the region.
Keywords: Liaoning, gymnosperms, Norian, paleoclimate, plant fossils, U-Pb dating