Home / Preservation & Taphonomy / Plant Fossil Preservation and Plant Taphonomy

Stephen T. Abedon, Microbiology, Ohio State University, Mansfield: Supplemental Lecture. Fossilization, palaeontology, biases in the fossil record etc. in brief.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

! A.M.B. Abu Hamad et al. (2012): The record of Triassic charcoal and other evidence for palaeo-wildfires: Signal for atmospheric oxygen levels, taphonomic biases or lack of fuel? In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 96–97: 60–71.
See also here (abstract).

N.F. Adams et al. (2016): X-rays and virtual taphonomy resolve the first Cissus (Vitaceae) macrofossils from Africa as early-diverging members of the genus. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 103: 1657–1677.
"... Virtual taphonomy explained how complex mineral infill processes concealed key seed features, causing the previous taxonomic misidentification. ..."

Alexa (Alexa Internet, Inc., an Amazon.com Company). Alexa is a Web Information Company, perhaps best known for the Alexa Rank, the website ranking system which tracks over 30 million websites worldwide. The top ranked sites in category "Science". Go to:
! Taphonomy.

M.F. Alexandru et al. (2010): Simulating fossilization to resolve the taxonomic affinities of thalloid fossils in Early Silurian (ca. 425 Ma) terrestrial assemblages. In PDF.

J.P. Allen and R.A. Gastaldo (2006): Sedimentology and taphonomy of the Early to Middle Devonian plant-bearing beds of the Trout Valley Formation, Maine. PDF file, in: DiMichele, W.A., and Greb, S., eds., Wetlands Through Time: Geological Society of America, Special Publication 399: 57-78.
See also here.

M.A.M. Aref et al. (2014): Microbial and physical sedimentary structures in modern evaporitic coastal environments of Saudi Arabia and Egypt. In PDF, Facies. See also here.

! Nan Crystal Arens, C. Strömberg and A. Thompson, Department of Integrative Biology, and Paleobotany Section, Museum of Paleontology (UCMP), University of California at Berkeley: Virtual Paleobotany, Laboratory III, Plant Fossils and Their Preservation. Excellent! Don´t miss the Virtual Gallery. See especially:
! Conditions Required for Plant Fossil Preservation.

G.A. Astorga et al. (2016): Towards understanding the fossil record better: Insights from recently deposited plant macrofossils in a sclerophyll-dominated subalpine environment. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 233: 1-11. See also here, and there (in PDF).

A.-M. Aucour et al. (2009): Insights into preservation of fossil plant cuticles using thermally assisted hydrolysis methylation. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 40: 784-794.
See here as well.

M. Barthel et al. (1998): Brennende Berge - Flöz- und Haldenbrand-Gesteine als Matrix fossiler Pflanzen-Abdrücke und als Objekte der Wissenschaftsgeschichte. PDF file, in German.

A.R. Bashforth et al. (2022): Taphonomic megabiases and the apparent rise of the dryland biome during the Pennsylvanian to Permian transition. Powerpoint presentation (pptx-extension), 11^th European Palaeobotany and Palynology Conference (Stockholm, Sweden).

A.R. Bashforth et al. (2010): Vegetation heterogeneity on a Late Pennsylvanian braided-river plain draining the Variscan Mountains, La Magdalena Coalfield, northwestern Spain. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

N.V. Bazhenova et al.(2022): Mummified Seed Cones of Pinus prehwangshanensis sp. nov. (Subgenus Pinus, Pinaceae) From the Upper Pleistocene of Guangdong, South China: Taxonomical Significance and Implication for Phytogeography and Ecology. Free access, Front. Ecol. Evol., 10: 900687. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.900687

A.K. Behrensmeyer et al. (2018): What is taphonomy and What is not? Free access, Historical Biology, 30: 718-719.

! A.K. Behrensmeyer et al. (2000): Taphonomy and Paleobiology. In PDF, Paleobiology, 26: 103-147.
See also here.
Note figure 6: Intrinsic and extrinsic changes with the potential for major effects on taphonomic processes and organic preservation over geologic time.

A.K. Behrensmeyer (1992; Google books): Terrestrial ecosystems through time. Read "Taphonomy", page 4.

! A.K. Behrensmeyer and S.M. Kidwell (1985): Taphonomy's contributions to paleobiology. In PDF, Paleobiology, 11: 105-119.
See also here.
! Note figure 3: The progression of organic remains through distinct stages from death to final discovery.

S. Bernard et al. (2015): Evolution of the macromolecular structure of sporopollenin during thermal degradation. In PDF. See also here.

! S. Bernard et al. (2007): Exceptional preservation of fossil plant spores in high-pressure metamorphic rocks. In PDF, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 262: 257-272. See also here.

! H.H. Birks (2001): Plant macrofossils. PDF file, in: J.P. Smol et al. (eds.): Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments.

C. Blanco-Moreno et al. (2022): Quantitative plant taphonomy: the cosmopolitan Mesozoic fern Weichselia reticulata as a case study. Open access, Palaeontology, 65.
Note figure 7: Taphonomic model proposed for Weichselia reticulata.
"... In the case of the specimens of Weichselia reticulata included in this work, charred remains are the most frequent preservation type ..."

! B. Blonder et al. (2012): The leaf-area shrinkage effect can bias paleoclimate and ecology research. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 99: 1756-1763.

M. Boersma (1988): Wie und warum man Pflanzenfossilien sammelt. Einführende Gedanken zur Paläobotanik. In German.

! R.T. Bolzon et al. (2004): Fossildiagênese de lenhos do Mesozóico do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. PDF file, in Portuguese. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 7: 103-110.
About wood fossil diagenesis, e.g. the preservation of the cells of fossil wood, the form of wood mineralization, especially the silicification of wood.

B. Bomfleur et al. (2014): Fossilized Nuclei and Chromosomes Reveal 180 Million Years of Genomic Stasis in Royal Ferns. In PDF, Science, 343. See also here.

Lisa D. Boucher: ANALYZING TAPHONOMIC VARIATION IN LEAF COMPRESSIONS FROM CRETACEOUS FLOODPLAIN SUBENVIRONMENTS. Abstract, NAPC, June 26 - July 1 2001 Berkeley.

! C.K. Boyce (2008): Seeing the forest with the leaves-clues to canopy placement from leaf fossil size and venation characteristics. In PDF, Geobiology, 7: 192-199.
See also here.

! Jamie Boyer, The New York Botanical Garden:
What is Paleobotany?. Also worth checking out:
Plant Evolution & Paleobotany. An educational resource for students and teachers studying Earth's history, fossils, and evolution.
! Go to: Paleobotany Short-Course. Lecture notes.
Paleobotany Overview; Life moves to land.
Plant classification.
Rise of Seed Plants.
Rise of flowering plants.
Excellent!

! C.E. Brett and J.R. Thomka (2013): Fossils and Fossilisation. In PDf. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Chichester. DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0001621.pub2.
Note figure 2: Aspects of orientation of skeletal materials.
Biostratinomic processes affect potential fossil remains between death and final burial, including decay of organic parts, disarticulation, fragmentation, abrasion, bioerosion and dissolution. Fossil diagenesis constitutes processes that affect organic remains subsequent to burial such as dissolution, compaction and early and late mineralisation. Taphonomy reveals biases of the fossil record and also provides insights into depositional rates and processes.

! D.E.G. Briggs (2023): The taphonomy of Konservat-Lagerstätten – now and next. PDF file, starting on PDF page 9. In: J. Reitner, M. Reich, J.-P. Duda (eds.): Abstracts, Symposium Fossillagerstätten and Taphonomy.

! D.E.G. Briggs and S. McMahon (2016): The role of experiments in investigating the taphonomy of exceptional preservation. Abstract, Palaeontology, 59: 1–11. See also here (in PDF).

! D.E.G. Briggs (2003): The role of decay and mineralization in the preservation of soft-bodied fossils. Abstract, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, 31: 275-301.

D.E.G. Briggs (1999): Molecular taphonomy of animal and plant cuticles: selective preservation and diagenesis. PDF file, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B,354: 7-17. See also here.

! Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.), Earth Pages, Blackwell Publishing: Paleobiology: A Synthesis (PDF files). Snapshot now taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Series of concise articles from over 150 leading authorities from around the world. Navigate from the content file. There are no restrictions on downloading this material. Excellent! Worth checking out:
Part 1. Major Events in the History of Life, Pages 1-92.
Part 2. The Evolutionary Process and the Fossil Record, Pages 93-210.
Part 3. Taphonomy, Pages 211-304.
Part 4. Palaeoecology, Pages 305-414.
Part 5. Taxonomy, Phylogeny and Biostratigraphy, Pages 415-490.

MSc Palaeobiology Students, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, (the author´s name appears on the title page for each section):
Fossil Lagerstätten. A catalogue of sites of exceptional fossil preservation. Go to:
Mazon Creek.
Websites still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

MSc Palaeobiology Students, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, (the author´s name appears on the title page for each section):
Fossil Lagerstätten. A catalogue of sites of exceptional fossil preservation. Go to: The Flora of the Rhynie Chert.
Diagrammatic reconstructions of Rhynia, Aglaophyton, Horneophyton.
Some reconstruction images here.
Websites still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

! Stephen P. Broker, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute: The Evolution of Plants. The evolution of plants is briefly treated primarily in terms of a consideration of the concepts of time and change. Go to: IV. Paleobotanical Evidence. The Formation of Fossils.

P.L. Broughton (2022): Fruit taphonomy and origin of hollow goethite spherulites in lacustrine sediments of the Maastrichtian Whitemud Formation, western Canada. Abstract, PalZ.

! D.R. Broussard et al. (2018): Depositional setting, taphonomy and geochronology of new fossil sites in the Catskill Formation (Upper Devonian) of north-central Pennsylvania, USA, including a new early tetrapod fossil. Abstract, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 511: 168-187. See also here (in PDF).

R.J. Burnham (2008): Hide and Go Seek: What Does Presence Mean in the Fossil Record. Abstract, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 95: 51-71. See also here (in PDF).

R.J. Burnham (1994): Patterns in tropical leaf litter and implications for angiosperm paleobotany. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

! R.J. Burnham (1993): Reconstructing Richness in the Plant Fossil Record. Abstract, Palaios, 8: 376-384.

! R.J. Burnham et al. (1992): The reflection of deciduous forest communities in leaf litter: implications for autochthonous litter assemblages from the fossil record. PDF file, Paleobiology, 18: 30-49.
See also here.
Note fig. 1: Three steps in the process of plant taphonomy.

N.J. Butterfield et al. (2007): Fossil diagenesis in the Burgess Shale. Free access, Palaeontology, 50: 537–543.
Note fig. 3: Odontopteris foliage show fibrous white mineral replacing and overgrowing the original carbonaceous compressions.

D.A. Callaghan et al. (2022): Long-term survival of bryophytes underground: an investigation of the diaspore bank of Physcomitrium eurystomum Sendtn. In PDF, Journal of Bryology, DOI: 10.1080/03736687.2022.2151857.
See also here.
"... Undisturbed soil cores of 40 cm depth were collected from Langmere, Norfolk, UK, and were split into investigated sediment layers of 1 cm depth.
[...] Viable diaspores of Physcomitrium eurystomum frequently occurred in sediment layers that were at least 100 years old and continued to occur in much lower layers that were probably several hundred years old.

O. Cambra-Moo et al. (2013): Exceptionally well-preserved vegetal remains from the Upper Cretaceous of "Lo Hueco", Cuenca, Spain. In PDF, Lethaia, 46. See also here.

J. Cao et al. (2023): Pyritization and Preservation Model of Chrysophyte Cyst Fossils in Shales during the Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode, Ordos Basin, China: Evidence from Cyclostratigraphy, Radiometric Dating and Geochemical Analyses. Open access, Minerals, 13, 991; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13080991.
Note figure 9: A model explaining the preservation of chrysophyte cysts under anoxic conditions in the CPE [the Carnian Pluvial Episode], the fossilization process of chrysophyte cysts in the sulfate reduction zone, and steps of chrysophyte cysts pyritization.
"... Pyritization was initiated on the walls of the chrysophyte cysts by the formation of microcrystalline pyrite ..."

Claudia Capos, School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan: Plant decay findings inform response to climate change.

! E.M. Carlisle et al. (2021): Experimental taphonomy of organelles and the fossil record of early eukaryote evolution. Open access, Science Advances, 7: eabe9487.
Note fig. 4A: Fossil of a Zelkova leaf from the Miocene Succor Creek Formation showing a chloroplast adpressed to the cell wall.

J.A. Caruso and A.M.F. Tomescu (2012): Microconchid encrusters colonizing land plants: the earliest North American record from the Early Devonian of Wyoming, USA. In PDF, Lethaia, 45: 490-494.
see also here.
About plant decay rates.
"... The Beartooth Butte Formation provides the first record of plant colonization by microconchids in North America and, along with only one other Early Devonian record from Germany, the oldest evidence for microconchids colonizing plant substrates ..."

J. Cassara (2003), Department of Geology, University of Maryland: Taphonomic biases on the preservation of within-community seed size distributions. In PDF.
See for instance: "Potential Taphonomic Filters", starting on PDF page 5.

! P. Cennamo et al. (2014): Epiphytic Diatom Communities on Sub-Fossil Leaves of Posidonia oceanica Delile in the Graeco-Roman Harbor of Neapolis: A Tool to Explore the Past. In PDF, American Journal of Plant Sciences, 5: 549-553.

A. Channing and D.E. Wujek (2010): Preservation of protists within decaying plants from geothermally influenced wetlands of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States. PDF file, Palaios, 25: 347-355.
See also here.

! A. Channing and D. Edwards (2004): Experimental taphonomy: silicification of plants in Yellowstone hot-spring environments. In PDF, Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences, 94, 503-521.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

The Field Museum, Chicago, IL:
Focus: Fossil Plants. See especially:
! Mesofossils.

M.E. Chrpa et al. (2023): A marine origin of coal balls in the Midland and Illinois basins, USA. Open access, Communications Earth & Environment, 4.
"... Despite their importance to paleobotany, the salinity of coal-ball peat remains controversial. Pennsylvanian coal balls from the Midland and Illinois basins contain echinoderms and early high-magnesium calcite cement
[...] Coal balls likely formed in the marine-freshwater mixing zone ..."

Citizendium. This is an open wiki project. Go to: Fossilization.

! C.J. Cleal and B.A. Thomas (2021): Naming of parts: the use of fossil-taxa in palaeobotany. In PDF, Fossil Imprint, 77: 166–186.
See also here.

C.J. Cleal et al. (2021): Palaeobotanical experiences of plant diversity in deep time. 1: How well can we identify past plant diversity in the fossil record? Abstract, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 576.
See likewise here (in PDF).
"... Autochthonous floras provide the most direct evidence of vegetation diversity but these are rare; most plant beds are allochthonous with plant remains that have been subjected to varying levels of fragmentation, transportation and time averaging
[...] the plant fossil record provides clear evidence of the dynamic history of vegetation through geological times, including the effects of major processes such as climate changes and mass extinctions ..."

C.J. Cleal & B.A. Thomas (2001): Introduction to the Mesozoic and Tertiary palaeobotany of Great Britain. PDF file, from: Cleal, C.J., Thomas, B.A., Batten, D.J. & Collinson, M.E., (2001), Mesozoic and Tertiary Palaeobotany of Great Britain, Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 22, Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, 335 pages, illustrations, A4 hardback, ISBN 1 86107 489 1.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
Note figure 1.1: The potential process involved in a plant fragment passing into the fossil record.
Figure 1.2 Summary of modes and nomenclature of plant fossil preservation.

C.J. Cleal et al. (2001):
Geological Conservation Review Series (GCR), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC): Mesozoic and Tertiary Palaeobotany of Great Britain (2001). PDF files, GCR Volume No. 22.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
In chapter 1 a brief explanation is given of how plant fossils are formed, and how palaeobotanists study and name them.

C.J. Cleal and B.A. Thomas (1995): Palaeozoic Palaeobotany of Great Britain, Introduction. PDF file, Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 9.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
! Note figure 1.3: The potential processes involved in a plant fragment passing into the fossil record.
! Figure 1.4: Summary of modes and nomenclature of plant fossil preservation.

! T. Clements et al. (2019): The Mazon Creek Lagerstätte: a diverse late Paleozoic ecosystem entombed within siderite concretions. Open access, Journal of the Geological Society, 176: 1–11.

! P. Cockx and R.C. McKellar (2024): Bonebed amber deposits: a review of taphonomy and palaeontological significance. Open access, Evolving Earth, 2.
Note figure 1: Taphonomy of bonebed deposits and amber deposits.

M.E. Collinson (2011): Molecular Taphonomy of Plant Organic Skeletons. Abstract, In: Allison, P.A., Bottjer, D.J. (eds): Taphonomy. Aims & Scope Topics in Geobiology Book Series, 32: 223-247.

! C.E. Colombi and J.T. Parrish (2008): Late Triassic Environmental Evolution in Southwestern Pangea: Plant Taphonomy of the Ischigualasto Formation. In PDF, Palaios, 23: 778–795.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
See also here.

P.J. Coorough Burke et al. (2024): Mazon Creek Fossils Brought to You by Coal, Concretions, and Collectors. Abstract, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 543.
"... The Mazon Creek biota includes over 465 animal and 350 plant species representing more than 100 orders, which is attributed to the preservation of organisms from multiple habitats and the large number of specimens collected. That phenomenon was made possible by coal extraction bringing concretions to the surface and highly motivated amateur collectors pursuing them ..."

W.K. Cornwell et al. (2009): Plant traits and wood fates across the globe: rotted, burned, or consumed? PDF file, Global Change Biology, 15: 2431-2449.
See also here.
Note figure 1: The five major fates for woody debris.
Table 2: Stem anatomy differences across woody and pseudo-woody plant clades.

S. Cotroneo et al. (2016): A new model of the formation of Pennsylvanian iron carbonate concretions hosting exceptional soft-bodied fossils in Mazon Creek, Illinois. In PDF, Geobiology, 14: 543-555. See also here (abstract).

Richard Cowen, Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, CA: History of Life, Third Edition.
Go to: Preservation and Bias in the Fossil Record.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

A.J. Crawford and C.M. Belcher (2014): Charcoal morphometry for paleoecological analysis: The effects of fuel type and transportation on morphological parameters. Open access, Applications in Plant Sciences, 2: 1400004. See also here (in PDF).

! G. Császár et al. (2009): A possible Late Miocene fossil forest PaleoPark in Hungary.
! Permineralized tree stumps in situ!
In PDF, in: Jere H. Lipps and Bruno R.C. Granier (eds.) 2009, (e-book, hosted by Carnets): PaleoParks - The protection and conservation of fossil sites worldwide.

J.A. D´Angelo et al. (2012): Compression map, functional groups and fossilization: A chemometric approach (Pennsylvanian neuropteroid foliage, Canada). Abstract, International Journal of Coal Geology.

J.A. D´Angelo et al. (2011): Chemometric analysis of functional groups in fossil remains of the Dicroidium flora (Cacheuta, Mendoza, Argentina): Implications for kerogen formation. In PDF.

! V.H. Dale et al. (2004): Effects of modern volcanic eruptions on vegetation. Google books. See also here.

J.A. D'Angelo and E.L. Zodrow (2015): Chemometric study of structural groups in medullosalean foliage (Carboniferous, fossil Lagerstätte, Canada): Chemotaxonomic implications. In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 138: 42–54.
See also here.

M.P. D'Antonio and C.K. Boyce (2020): Arborescent lycopsid periderm production was limited. Free access, New Phytologist, 228: 741-751.
"... we argue that physiological limitations would have prohibited the production of thick periderm
[...] The large amount of arborescent lycopsid periderm in Middle Pennsylvanian coals represents taphonomic enrichment rather than a true anatomical signal ..."

S.A.F. Darroch et al. (2012): Experimental formation of a microbial death mask. In PDF, Palaios, 27: 293-303.

Ben Dattilo, Geosciences, Weber State University, Ogden, Utah: Dinosaurs and The Fossil Record. The fossil record from the oldest fossils found on earth to the present day. Go to:
Web Syllabus with Links to Class Notes, and Fossilization (Basic Taphonomy).

Yannicke Dauphin, Micropaléontologie, Université Paris: "Biomineralization and Biologicalcalcifications": Taphonomy and Diagenesis NEWS.

John Dawson, Forest Vines to Snow Tussocks: The Story of New Zealand Plants (Part of New Zealand Texts Collection): How do plants become fossils?

! G. De Lafontaine et al. (2011): Permineralization process promotes preservation of Holocene macrofossil charcoal in soils. Abstract, Journal of Quaternary Science, 26. See also here (in PDF).

G.P. de Oliveira Martins et al. (2018): Are early plants significant as paleogeographic indicators of past coastlines? Insights from the taphonomy and sedimentology of a Devonian taphoflora of Paraná Basin, Brazil. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 505: 234-242. See also here.

T.M. Demko (1995): Taphonomy of fossil plants in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation. Dissertation, in PDF. Table of contents on PDF page 8; taphonomic studies of fossil plants introduction on PDF page 27.

V. Dernov (2019): Taphonomy and paleoecology of fauna and flora from deltaic sandstones of Mospinka Formation (Middle Carboniferous) of Donets Basin. In PDF, Geo & Bio, 18: 37–63.

! C.G. Diedrich (2009): A coelacanthid-rich site at Hasbergen (NW Germany): taphonomy and palaeoenvironment of a first systematic excavation in the Kupferschiefer (Upper Permian, Lopingian). In PDF, Palaeobio. Palaeoenv., 89: 67-94.
Mapped taphonomy of plants, invertebrates and fish vertebrates at six different planal levels on a 12 m² area.

! D. Dietrich et al. (2013): A microstructure study on silicified wood from the Permian Petrified Forest of Chemnitz. In PDF, Paläontologische Zeitschrift.

! D.L. Dilcher et al. (2009): A climatic and taxonomic comparison between leaf litter and standing vegetation from a Florida swamp woodland. Open access, American Journal of Botany, 96: 1108-1115.

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2023): A detailed stratigraphic and taphonomic reassessment of the late Paleozoic fossil flora from Promontory Butte, Arizona. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.
"... The Promontory Butte floras
[...] can be divided into two groups, based first on facies, those from the lower part of the exposure, which are preserved in siltstone and sandy siltstone, active channel bars
[...] and those preserved in the upper clay-shales [...], which appear to have accumulated in standing water, initially dysoxic, at least in the bottom waters, perhaps deepening through time and becoming better oxygenated as filling progressed ..."

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2023): Two Early Permian Fossil Floras from the Arroyo de Alamillo Formation of the Yeso Group, Socorro County, New Mexico. In PDF, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 94.
! Note figure 3d: Mud draped surface from L8741. Surface is covered by cavities interpreted either as raindrop imprints or gas-escape structures.
! Figure 6: Branch fragments preserved in a mud drape.

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2021): Plant-Fossil Taphonomy, Late Pennsylvanian Kinney Quarry, New Mexico, USA. Google books, In: Lucas, S.G., DiMichele, W.A. and Allen, B.D. (eds): Kinney Brick Quarry Lagerstätte. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 84.
See also here (in PDF), and there.

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2015): Early Permian fossil floras from the red beds of Prehistoric Trackways National Monument, southern New Mexico. In PDF, New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin, 65: 129-139. See also here.
! Note fig. 3 and 4: Large mats of Walchia branches encased in claystones.

! W.A. DiMichele and H.J. Falcon-Lang (2012): Calamitalean "pith casts" reconsidered. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology. See also here (abstract).

! W.A. DiMichele and H.J. Falcon-Lang (2011): Pennsylvanian "fossil forests" in growth position (T⁰ assemblages): origin, taphonomic bias and palaeoecological insights. PDF file, Journal of the Geological Society, London, 168: 585-605. See also here.

W.A. DiMichele et al. (2007): A low diversity, seasonal tropical landscape dominated by conifers and peltasperms: Early Permian Abo Formation, New Mexico. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 145: 249-273.

M.P. Donovan et al. (2021): Atlas of Selected Kinney Quarry Plant Fossils, Late Pennsylvanian, Central New Mexico. Google books. PDF download available.
In: Lucas, S.G., DiMichele, W.A. and Allen, B.D., (eds.): Kinney Brick Quarry Lagerstätte. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin, 84.

Neal L. Evenhuis, Department of Natural Sciences, Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii: Fossil Diptera Catalog, TAPHONOMY.
Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

A.S. Fernandes (2012): A geobiological investigation of the Mazon Creek concretions of northeastern Illinois, mechanisms of formation and diagenesis. In PDF. Thesis, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

! N.K. Dhami et al. (2023): Microbially mediated fossil concretions and their characterization by the latest methodologies: a review. Free access, Frontiers in Microbiology, 14: 1225411. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1225411.
Note figure 1: The three broad modes of fossilization.
Figure 6: Visual representation of the factors involved in formation of iron carbonate concretions in freshwater influenced environments.
! Figure 7: Flow diagram for analytical methods applicable to microbial fossil concretions, modern and ancient.
Figure 8: Completing the story of fossilization. Conceptual framework to establish fossilization processes and interrogate their biochemical record.
"... we provide a comprehensive account of organic geochemical, and complimentary inorganic geochemical, morphological, microbial and paleontological, analytical methods, including recent advancements, relevant to the characterization of concretions and sequestered OM [organic matter] ..."

C. Diéguez et al. (2009): A fern-bennettitalean floral assemblage in Tithonian-Berriasian travertine deposits (Aguilar Formation, Burgos-Palencia, N Spain) and its palaeoclimatic and vegetational implications. In PDF, Journal of Iberian Geology, 35: 127-140.
Specimens preserved as impressions coated with a microbial film up to 5 mm thick made up of bacteria and cyanobacteria.

Jim Dockal, Department of Earth Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington: Sedimentary Petrology Laboratory Manual. Lecture notes. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. The primary objective in this course is to learn how to observe, describe, and interpret sedimentary rocks. Go to: Fossils, Fossilization and Taphonomy.

Â.C.S. dos Santos et al. (2022): Record of Brachyoxylon patagonicum, a Cheirolepidiaceae wood preserved by gelification in the aptian Maceió Formation, Sergipe–Alagoas Basin, NE Brazil. In PDF, Journal of South American Earth Sciences.
See also here.
"... The presence of fungal remains within the wood tissue, and the absence of signs of plant defense against fungal decay suggest saprophytic fungus–wood interactions that likely occurred during a stage of aerobic exposure before burial.

N. Dotzler et al. (2011): Sphenophyllum (Sphenophyllales) leaves colonized by fungi from the Upper Pennsylvanian Grand-Croix cherts of central France. Zitteliana 51. Go to PDF page 3.

H. Drake and C.J. Burrows (1980): The influx of potential macrofossils into Lady Lake, north Westland, New Zealand. In PDF, New Zealand Journal of Botany, 18: 257-274.

! S.G. Driese et al. (1997): Morphology and taphonomy of root and stump casts of the earliest trees (Middle to Late Devonian), Pennsylvania and New York, U.S.A. In PDF, PALAIOS, 12: 524–537. See also here.

Duden Learnattack GmbH, Lernhelfer:
Fossilisation (in German).

! K.A. Dunn et al. (1997): Enhancement of leaf fossilization potential by bacterial biofilms. In PDF, Geology, 25: 1119-1122. See also here (abstract).

N.P. Edwards et al. (2014): Leaf metallome preserved over 50 million years. In PDF, Metallomics, 6. See also here.

Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK: Research activities,
Molecular taphonomy, and
Other taphonomy.
Websites outdated. Links lead to versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

C. Elliott-Kingston et al. (2014): Damage structures in leaf epidermis and cuticle as an indicator of elevated atmospheric sulphur dioxide in early Mesozoic floras. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 208: 25-42.

Brian J. Enquist et al. (2002): General patterns of taxonomic and biomass partitioning in extant and fossil plant communities. PDF file, Nature.

H.J. Falcon-Lang (2005): Adpressed tree-fern trunks from the Early Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation of Nova Scotia. In PDF, Atlantic Geology, 41: 169–172.

Howard J. Falcon-Lang and John H. Calder: Sir William Dawson (1820-1899): a very modern paleobotanist (PDF file). Early Plant Taphonomy! From the Atlantic Geology volume on the classic Carboniferous site at Joggins, Nova Scotia.

J. Farmer (1999): Articel starts on page 94, PDF page 110: Taphonomic Modes in Microbial Fossilization. In PDF; In: Proceedings of the Workshop on Size Limits of Very Small Organisms, Space Studies Board, National Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

D.K. Ferguson (2012): Plant taphonomy: 20 years of death, decay, and dissemules. Abstract, Palaios 27.

! D.K. Ferguson et al. (2009): The taphonomy of a remarkable leaf bed assemblage from the Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Gore Lignite Measures, southern New Zealand. PDF file, International Journal of Coal Geology. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! David K. Ferguson (2005): Plant Taphonomy: Ruminations on the Past, the Present, and the Future. Abstract, Palaios, 20: 418-428. See also here (References).

David K. Ferguson, Department of Palaeontology, Geocentre, University of Vienna, Austria: Catastrophic events as a taphonomic window on plant communities. Abstract, International Plant Taphonomy Meeting Chemnitz, 2003.

A.S. Fernandes (2012): A geobiological investigation of the Mazon Creek concretions of northeastern Illinois, mechanisms of formation and diagenesis. In PDF. Thesis, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

M. Frese et al. (2017): Imaging of Jurassic fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed using fluorescence, photoluminescence, and elemental and mineralogical mapping. PLoS ONE 12(6): e0179029.
"... Closer inspection of a plant leaf (Pentoxylon australicum White, 1981) establishes fluorescence as a useful tool for the visualisation of anatomical details that are difficult to see under normal light conditions".

M. Friedman and G. Carnevale (2018): The Bolca Lagerstätten: shallow marine life in the Eocene. In PDF, Journal of the Geological Society, 175: 569–579.
See likewise here.
"... Famous for its fishes, the localities of Bolca also yield diverse invertebrate faunas and a rich, but relatively understudied flora ..."

! M.E. Galvez et al. (2012): Morphological preservation of carbonaceous plant fossils in blueschist metamorphic rocks fromNew Zealand. in PDF; Geobiology (2012), 10: 118-129. See also here.

R.A. Gastaldo et al. (2024): To rush into the secret house of death: The fate of a Tournaisian plant Geology, 20.
"... Tournaisian-age failure of marginal lacustrine sediments, and their bulk collapse into an inland rift-basin lake in the Moncton Subbasin, Canada, led to the entrainment of rare, almost complete, three-dimensionally preserved non-woody trees. Preservation of these unique fossils from the Albert Formation was a consequence of contemporaneous seismicity ..."

R.A. Gastaldo and M.K. Bamford (2023): The influence of taphonomy and time on the paleobotanical record of the Permian–Trisssic transition of the Karoo basin (and elsewhere). In PDF, Journal of African Earth Sciences, 204.
See also here.

R.A. Gastaldo (2012): Taphonomic Controls on the Distribution of Palynomorphs in Tidally-influenced Coastal Deltaic Settings. In PDF, Palaios, 27: 798-810.

R.A. Gastaldo and T.M. Demko (2011): The relationship between continental landscape evolution and the plant-fossil record: long term hydrologic controls on preservation. In PDF, Taphonomy: 249-285.
See also here. and there.

! Robert A. Gastaldo et al. (2005): Taphonomic Trends of Macrofloral Assemblages Across the Permian-Triassic Boundary, Karoo Basin, South Africa. PDF file, Palaios. See also here.

R.A. GASTALDO et al. (2004): TAPHONOMIC TRENDS OF MACROFLORAL ASSEMBLAGES ACROSS THE PERMIAN-TRIASSIC BOUNDARY IN THE KAROO BASIN, SOUTH AFRICA. Abstract, 2004 Denver Annual Meeting (November 7-10, 2004.

! R.A. Gastaldo and J.R. Staub (1999): A mechanism to explain the preservation of leaf litter lenses in coals derived from raised mires. PDF file, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 149: 1-14. See also here.
! Note figure 5: Illustration of mechanism proposed for preservation of structurally preserved leaves in peat accumulations in raised mires throughout the Phanerozoic.

! R.A. Gastaldo et al. (1995): Taphonomic and sedimentologic characterization of roof-shale floras. In PDF, Geol. Soc. Am. Mem., 185: 341–352. See also here.

R.A. Gastaldo and A.-Y. Huc (1992): Sediment facies, depositional environments, and distribution of phytoclasts in the Recent Mahakam River delta, Kalimantan, Indonesia. PDF file, Palaios, 7: 574-590.
See also here.
Framboidal pyrite in fig. 8B, 9B.

R.A. Gastaldo et al. (1989): Biostratinomic processes for the development of mud-cast logs in Carboniferous and Holocene swamps. PDF file, Palaios, 4: 356-365.
See also here.

! R.A. Gastaldo (1988): A Conspectus of Phytotaphonomy. Abstract, In: W.A. DiMichelle and S.L. Wing (eds.), Methods and Applications of Plant Paleoecology. The Paleontological Society Special Publication No. 3. Univ. Tennessee, pp.14-28.

! R.A. Gastaldo et al. (1987): Origin, characteristics, and provenance of plant macrodetritus in a Holocene crevasse splay, Mobile Delta, Alabama. PDF file, Palaios.

! Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine: A Brief Introduction to Taphonomy (Gastaldo, Savrda, & Lewis. 1996. Deciphering Earth History: A Laboratory Manual with Internet Exercises. Contemporary Publishing Company of Raleigh, Inc. ISBN 0-89892-139-2).
See also: Plant Taphonomy.
These expired links are available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine:
Notes for a course in paleobotany. This website provides information about:
Taphonomy: Physiological, Necrological, and Traumatic processes,
Taphonomy: Biogeochemical Processes of Plant Fossilization and Preservational Modes,
Biostratinomic Processes in Volcaniclastic Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Fluvial-Lacustrine Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Coastal-Deltaic Terrains,
Biostratinomic Processes in Peat Accumulating Environments, and
Biostratinomic Processes in Marginal Marine Settings. See also: A Brief Introduction to PALEOBOTANY.
These expired links are still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Robert A. Gastaldo, Department of Geology, Colby College, Waterville, Maine:
BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND PRESERVATIONAL MODES.
Navigate via: Notes for a Course in Paleobotany.
Websites outdated. Download versions archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

C.T. Gee et al. (2022): First water lily, a leaf of Nymphaea sp., from the Miocene Clarkia flora, northern Idaho, USA: Occurrence, taphonomic observations, floristic implications. In PDF, Fossil Imprint, 78: 288–297.
See likewise here
"... it would be expected that fossil water lily leaves in an ancient pond or lake would make up a sizeable proportion of any fossil plant assemblage
[...] the remains of aquatic macrophytes are strangely uncommon in freshwater deposits of the Cenozoic [...] even if the occurrence of one nymphaealean leaf or seed indicates that water lilies had colonized that body of water.
[...] In other ancient freshwater deposits well known as conservation lagerstätten [...] water lily fossils make up a very small proportion of the entire fossil flora ..."

C.T. Gee, V.E. McCoy, P.M. Sander (eds., 2021). Fossilization: Understanding the Material Nature of Ancient Plants and Animals.
Google books.

C.T. Gee and R.A. Gastaldo (2005): Sticks and Mud, Fruits and Nuts, Leaves and Climate: Plant Taphonomy Comes of Age. PDF file, Palaios, 20: 415-418.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
"... Necrology involves the death of a plant or the loss of a plant part, either by traumatic causes (wind, storm, animal damage) or by pre-programmed physiological changes on the part of the plant (abscission, dehiscence) ..."

P. Gerrienne et al. (2022): Earliest Evidence of Land Plants in Brazil. In PDF, In: Iannuzzi, R., Rößler, R., Kunzmann, L. (eds.): Brazilian Paleofloras. Springer.
See also here.
! Worth checking out: "Taphonomy of the Early Taphofloras from the Paraná Basin" (starting on PDF page 18).

C. Geyer et al. (2023): Collecting in situ/adhered pollen from fossil compressed angiosperm flowers. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 310.
See also here (in PDF).

Michael A. Gibson et al.: POSSIBLE DNA PRESERVATION FROM PLANT FOSSILS IN THE CLAIBORNE FORMATION (MIDDLE EOCENE) OF WEST TENNESSEE. Abstract, 54th Annual Meeting (March 17-18, 2005), The Geological Society of America (GSA).

K.P. Giebel (1984): Plant Fossils in the Laboratory. PDF file. Website hosted by The Association for Biology Laboratory Education (ABLE).
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! M.R. Gibling and N.S. Davies (2012): Palaeozoic landscapes shaped by plant evolution. In PDF, Nature Geoscience, 5. See also here (abstract).

V. Girard et al. (2011): Protist-like inclusions in amber, as evidenced by Charentes amber. In PDF, European journal of Protistology.

B. Gomez et al. (2001): Plant taphonomy and palaeoecology in the lacustrine Uña delta (Late Barremian, Iberian Ranges, Spain). Abstract, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 170: 133-148. See also here (in PDF).

Pamela J. W. Gore, Department of Geology, Georgia Perimeter College, Clarkston, GA: Historical Geology. Online laboratory manual. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Go to: Fossil Preservation Laboratory.

! L.E. Graham et al. (2010): Structural, physiological, and stable carbon isotopic evidence that the enigmatic Paleozoic fossil Prototaxites formed from rolled liverwort mats. In PDF, American Journal of Botany, 97: 268-275. See also:
! T.N. Taylor et al. (2010): The enigmatic Devonian fossil Prototaxites is not a rolled-up liverwort mat: Comment on the paper by Graham et al.(AJB 97: 268-275). In PDF. See also:
! L.E. Graham et al. (2010): Rolled liverwort mats explain major Prototaxites features: Response to commentaries.

L.E. Graham et al. (2004): Resistant tissues of modern marchantioid liverworts resemble enigmatic Early Paleozoic microfossils. In PDF, PNAS, 101: 11025-11029.

D.R. Greenwood, (1992): Taphonomic constraints on foliar physiognomie interpretations of Late Cretaceous and tertiary palaeoeclimates. PDF file, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

! D.R. Greenwood (1991): The Taphonomy of Plant Macrofossils. PDF file, chapter 7, pp. 141-169;
In: Donovan, S.K. (Ed.) The Processes of Fossilization. Belhaven Press, London, 303 pp.

K. Grice et al. (2019): Fossilised Biomolecules and Biomarkers in Carbonate Concretions from Konservat-Lagerstätten. Open access, Minerals, 9.
Note figure 2: A typical analytical flowchart for the analysis of exceptionally preserved fossils, including nondestructive imaging techniques, and organic and inorganic geochemistry.

! S.T. Grimes et al. (2001): Understanding fossilization: Experimental pyritization of plants. In PDF, Geology, 29: 123–126.
See also here.
"... results demonstrate that initial pyritization can be an extremely rapid process (within 80 days) and is driven by anaerobic bacterial-mediated decay. ..."

! N.S. Gupta et al. (2006): Reinvestigation of the occurrence of cutan in plants: implications for the leaf fossil record. Abstract, Paleobiology, 32: 432–449.

A. Gutiérrez et al. (2021): Taphonomy of experimental burials in Taphos-m: The role of fungi Revista Iberoamericana de Micología. See also here (in PDF).

! E.R. Hagen et al. (2019): No Large Bias within Species between the Reconstructed Areas of Complete and Fragmented Fossil Leaves. Abstract, Palaios, 34: 43-48. See also here (in PDF).
"... that the underrepresentation of large leaves, as captured by our study design, is probably not critical for most fossil applications. Comparing directly the reconstructed areas of complete and fragmented leaves appears reasonable, thus expanding the usefulness of fossil leaf fragments. ..."

A.T. Halamski and P.D. Taylor (2022): Angiosperm tree leaf as a bryozoan substrate: a case study from the Cretaceous and its taphonomic consequences. In PDF, Lethaia.
See also here.

! T. Handa et al. (2014): Consequences of biodiversity loss for litter decomposition across biomes. Nature, 509: 218-221.

C.J. Harper et al. (2015): Fungi associated with Glossopteris (Glossopteridales) leaves from the Permian of Antarctica. In PDF, Zitteliana.

Terry Harrison (2011): Coprolites: Taphonomic and Paleoecological Implications. PDF file, Paleontology and geology of Laetoli.

E.A. Heise et al. (2011): Wood taphonomy in a tropical marine carbonate environment: Experimental results from Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 312: 363-379.
See also here.

! J. Hellawell et al. (2015): Incipient silicification of recent conifer wood at a Yellowstone hot spring. In PDF, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 149: 79-87. See also here (abstract).

! Z. Hermanová et al. (2021): Plant mesofossils from the Late Cretaceous Klikov Formation, the Czech Republic. Open access, Fossil Imprint, 77.
"... The fossils are charcoalified or lignitised, and usually three-dimensionally preserved. ..."

F. Herrera et al. (2023): Investigating Mazon Creek fossil plants using computed tomography and microphotography. Free access, Frontiers of Earth Science, 11: 1200976. doi: 10.3389/feart.2023.1200976.
"... The three-dimensional (3D) preservation of Mazon Creek fossil plants makes them ideal candidates for study using x-ray micro-computed tomography (ìCT)
[...] The mineralogical composition of the fossil plant preservation was studied using elemental maps and Raman spectroscopy. In-situ spores were studied with differential interference contrast, Airyscan confocal super-resolution microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, which reveal different features of the spores with different degrees of clarity ..."

F. Herrera et al. (2017): An exquisitely preserved filmy fern (Hymenophyllaceae) from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 104: 1370-1381. See also here (in PDF).

R.S. Hill, (1981): Consequences of long-distance dispersal of plant macrofossils. Free access, New Zealand Journal of Botany, 19: 241-242.

J. Hladil et al. (2010): Dust. A geology-orientated attempt to reappraise the natural components, amounts, inputs to sediment, and importance for correlation purposes. PDF file, Geologica Belgica, 13: 367-384.
See also here.

Christa-Ch. Hofmann and A. Hugh N. Rice (2008): Monospecific "leaf-jams" in the seasonal/ephemeral Hoanib River in the northern Namib (NW Namibia). Abstract, 18th Plant Taphonomy Meeting, Vienna, Austria.

D.T. Holyoak (1984): Taphonomy of prospective plant macrofossils in a river catchment on Spitsbergen. Free access, New Phytologist, 98: 405-423.

! G. Horváth et al. (2019): How did amber get its aquatic insects? Water-seeking polarotactic insects trapped by tree resin. Free access, Historical Biology, DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2019.1663843.

A.P. Hunt and S.G. Lucas (2023): The Four Principal Megabiases in the Known Fossil Record: Taphonomy, Rock Preservation, Fossil Discovery and Fossil Study. Open access, Proceedings, 87. doi.org/10.3390/ IECG2022-13956.

Illinois Digital Archives: George Langford Sr., collecting Mazon Creek nodules. In the 1920s and 1930s, George Langford, and his son, George, Jr., spent many hours collecting fossiliferous nodules from strip mines near Braidwood, Illinois.

! M. Iniesto et al. (2018): Plant Tissue Decay in Long-Term Experiments with Microbial Mats. Open access, Geosciences, 8.
"... Plants became trapped and progressively buried by the mat community that prevents fungal invasion, mechanical cracking, and inner tissue breakages ..."

International Journal of Coal Geology (Elsevier).
The International Journal of Coal Geology deals with fundamental and applied aspects of the geology, petrology, geochemistry and mineralogy of coal, oil/gas source rocks, and shales.
The scope of the journal encompasses basic research, computational and laboratory studies, technology development, and field studies.

! The International Plant Taphonomy Meeting. The International Plant Taphonomy Meetings are informal workshops focusing on recent developments in the science of plant taphonomy. Abstracts available from 1999-2004 and from 2008. A version archived by Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

! K. Janssen et al. (2021): Elucidating biofilm diversity on water lily leaves through 16S rRNA amplicon analysis: Comparison of four DNA extraction kits. Free access, Appl. Plant Sci., 2021;9:e11444.
"... Fossilization of plant material can be induced by different chemical processes, including authigenic pre-servation, which is dependent on encrustation withminerals. It has been shown that the biofilm-forming activity of bacteria plays an important role in this process ..."

J.A. Janssens (1990): Methods in Quaternary Ecology 11. Bryophytes. In PDF, Geoscience Canada, 17.

P.E. Jardine et al. (2017): Shedding light on sporopollenin chemistry, with reference to UV reconstructions. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 238: 1–6. See also here (in PDF).

K.R. Johnson (2007): Paleobotany: Forests frozen in time. In PDF, Nature, 447.
Fig. 1 shows the reconstruction of a lycopsid forest.
"... Dispersed plant parts are rapidly recycled by soil organisms and reduced to their organic constituents within months. Well-preserved palaeobotanical remains are therefore direct evidence of rapid burial below the level of destructive processes occurring in soils. ..."
Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! T.P. Jones and Nick P. Rowe (eds.), Google Books (some pages are ommitted): Fossil plants and spores: modern techniques. Published by Geological Society, 1999, 396 pages. Excellent! Click: "Preview the book".

! K.-P. Kelber (2019): Naiadita lanceolata (Marchantiophyta) from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of Germany: a new reconstruction attempt and considerations on taphonomy. Abstract, PalZ, 93: 499-515.

K.-P. Kelber, Würzburg (2007): Die Erhaltung und paläobiologische Bedeutung der fossilen Hölzer aus dem süddeutschen Keuper (Trias, Ladinium bis Rhätium).- In German. PDF file, 33 MB! pp. 37-100; In: Schüßler, H. & Simon, T. (eds.): Aus Holz wird Stein - Kieselhölzer aus dem Keuper Frankens.- (Eppe), Bergatreute-Aulendorf.

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY:
Fossils of the Month. Go to:
! Fossil of the month: Calamites.
Note the illustration: How fossils are formed from pith casts, external, and internal casts and impressions.

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY:
Fossils of the Month. Go to:
! Fossil of the Month: Callixylon.
Note the illustration: Floating logs on today’s seas provide a habitat for a multitude of organisms.

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky:
! Heat, time, pressure, and coalification.

H. Kerp and M. Krings (2023): The Early Devonian Rhynie chert–The world's oldest and most complete terrestrial ecosystem. PDF file, starting on PDF page 45. In: J. Reitner, M. Reich, J.-P. Duda (eds.): Abstracts, Fossillagerstätten and Taphonomy.

! J. Kimmig and J.D. Schiffbauer (2023): Finding and describing the exceptional: A modern definition of Fossil-Lagerstätten PDF file, starting on PDF page 52. In: J. Reitner, M. Reich, J.-P. Duda (eds.): Abstracts, Symposium Fossillagerstätten and Taphonomy.

T. Koff and E. Vandel (2008): Spatial distribution of macrofossil assemblages in surface sediments of two small lakes in Estonia. In PDF, Estonian Journal of Ecology, 57: 5-20.

J. Konecny, S. Konecny and J. Null, Fossil News, Journal of Avocational Paleontology: The Mazon Creek Nodules.
Still available from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Lenny L.R. Kouwenberg et al. (2007): A new transfer technique to extract and process thin and fragmented fossil cuticle using polyester overlays. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 145: 243-248.
See also here (PDF file).

Sean Kotz, Ehow.com: Paleobotany Types of Fossils.

J. Kovar-Eder (2007): Fossile Pflanzen – Puzzlesteine der Evolution. PDF file, in German. Denisia 20, zugleich Kataloge der oberösterreichischen Landesmuseen, Neue Serie 66: 367-377.

V.A. Krassilov (2003): Terrestrial palaeoecology and global change. PDF file (35.6 MB), Russian Academic Monographs No. 1, 464 p., (Pensoft), Sophia.
Worth checking out: "Taphonomy" starting on PDF page 18.

M. Krings et al. (2010): A fungal community in plant tissue from the Lower Coal Measures (Langsettian, Lower Pennsylvanian) of Great Britain. PDF file, Bulletin of Geosciences, 85.
See also here.

! M. Krings and H. Kerp (2023): The fidelity of microbial preservation in the Lower Devonian Rhynie cherts of Scotland. PDF file, starting on PDF page 54. In: J. Reitner, M. Reich, J.-P. Duda (eds.): Abstracts, Symposium Fossillagerstätten and Taphonomy.

E. Kustatscher et al. (2012): Taphonomical implications of the Ladinian megaflora and palynoflora of Thale (Germany). Abstract, Palaios, 27: 753–764. See also here (in PDF).

E. Kustatscher and J.H.A. van Konijnenburg-van Cittert (2008): Neocalamites asperrimus (Franke) Shen 1990, a morphospecies for Triassic sphenophyte "cortical structures"? Abstract, 18th Plant Taphonomy Meeting, Vienna, Austria.

M. Laaß et al. (2020): First evidence of arthropod herbivory in calamitalean stems from the Pennsylvanian of Germany. In PDF, Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 90: 219-246. See also here.
Note fig. 7: Taphonomy and fossilization of the calamitalean pith cast with arthropod borings.

K.J. Lang, Fachgebiet Pathologie der Waldbäume, Technische Universität München (TUM):
Gehölzkrankheiten in Wort und Bild, and Fäuleerreger in Wort und Bild (in German).
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

M.B. Lara et al. (2017): Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of an Upper Triassic deposit in southwestern Gondwana (Argentina) based on an insect fauna, plant assemblage, and their interactions. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 476: 163–180. See also here.

E.E. Levi et al. (2014): Similarity between contemporary vegetation and plant remains in the surface sediment in Mediterranean lakes. In PDF, Freshwater Biology, 59: 724-736.

E.R. Locatelli et al. (2022): Leaves in Iron Oxide: Remarkable Preservation of a Neogene Flora from New Caledonia. In PDF, Palaios, 37: 622–632.
See also here.
"... Leaf tissues are preserved three-dimensionally in multiple ways including casts/molds, permineralization/petrifaction, and replacement. [...] We propose a taphonomic model in which the fossil leaves, like their modern counterparts, were permeated by iron oxides due to the high availability of iron ..."

! E.R. Locatelli (2014): The exceptional preservation of plant fossils: a review of taphonomic pathways and biases in the fossil record. PDF file, In: M. Laflamme et al. (eds.): Reading and Writing of the Fossil Record: Preservational Pathways to Exceptional Fossilization. The Paleontological Society Papers, 20.

! C.V. Looy et al. (2014): The late Paleozoic ecological-evolutionary laboratory, a land-plant fossil record perspective. In PDF, The Sedimentary Record, 12: 4-18. See also here. Worth checking out: The overprint of taphonomy (PDF page 4).

J.A. Luczaj et al. (2019): Comment on “Non-Mineralized Fossil Wood” by George E. Mustoe (Geosciences, 2018). Free access, Geosciences, 8.

! L. Luthardt et al. (2022): Upside-down in volcanic ash: crown reconstruction of the early Permian seed fern Medullosa stellata with attached foliated fronds. Open access, PeerJ, 10: e13051.
"... The upper part of a Medullosa stellata var. typica individual broke at its top resulting from the overload of volcanic ash and was buried upside-down in the basal pyroclastics. The tree crown consists of the anatomically preserved apical stem, ten attached Alethopteris schneideri foliated fronds with Myeloxylon-type petioles and rachises. ..."

! R.L. Lyman (2010): What Taphonomy Is, What it Isn´t, and Why Taphonomists Should Care about the Difference. In PDF, Journal of Taphonomy, 8.
See also here.

G. Mackenzie et al. (2015): Sporopollenin, the least known yet toughest natural biopolymer. Frontiers in Materials, 2.

M. Malekhosseini (2023): Fossil record and new aspects of evolutionary history of Calcium biomineralization and plant waxes in fossil leaves. In PDF, Thesis, Rheinischen Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Germany.

M. Malekhosseini et al. (2022): Traces of calcium oxalate biomineralization in fossil leaves from late Oligocene maar deposits from Germany. Open access, Scientific Reports, 12.
Note figure 6: Model of the fossilization processes that lead to the formation of globular and serrate replications of CaOx crystals and druses.

K.M. Maloney et al. (2022): Preservation of early Tonian macroalgal fossils from the Dolores Creek Formation, Yukon. Open access, Scientific Reports, 12.

! S.R. Manchester et al. (2014): Assembling extinct plants from their isolated parts. In PDF, Boletín de la Sociedad Geológica Mexicana, 66: 53-63. See also here.

L. Mander and H.T.P. Williams (2024): The robustness of some Carboniferous fossil leaf venation networks to simulated damage. Open access, R. Soc. Open Sci. 11: 240086. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240086.
"... We attacked fossil venation networks with simulated damage to individual vein segments and leaf blades. For both types of attack, branched venation networks are the least robust to damage, with greater robustness shown by the net-like reticulate networks
[...] A living angiosperm Betula alba was the most robust in our analysis ..."

! L. Mander et al. (2012): Tracking Taphonomic Regimes Using Chemical and Mechanical Damage of Pollen and Spores: An Example from the Triassic-Jurassic Mass Extinction.

J. Marmi et al. (2015): A riparian plant community from the upper Maastrichtian of the Pyrenees (Catalonia, NE Spain). In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 56: 510-529. See also here.

C. Martín-Closas et al. (2021): Palaeonitella trifurcata n. sp., a cortoid-building charophyte from the Lower Cretaceous of Catalonia. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 295.
"... The thallus of P. trifurcata n. sp. was encrusted by a thin micrite film, and additionally, the whorls were coated by a thicker crust while the plant was still alive.
[...] This is the first report of constructive micrite envelopes protecting delicate and poorly calcified charophyte thalli from being destroyed ..."

C. Martín-Closas and J. Galtier (2005): Plant taphonomy and paleoecology of Late Pennsylvanian intramontane wetlands in the Graissessac-Lodève basin (Languedoc, France). In PDF, Palaios, 20: 249–265. See also here.

E. Martinetto and E. Vassio (2010): Reconstructing "Plant Community Scenarios" by means of palaeocarpological data from the CENOFITA database, with an example from the Ca' Viettone site (Pliocene, Northern Italy). Abstract, Quaternary International, 225: 25–36. See also here (in PDF).

M.A. Martínez et al. (2016): Palynotaphofacies analysis applied to Jurassic marine deposits, Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Abstract, Facies, 62. See also here (in PDF).

! A.K. Martins et al. (2022): Exceptional preservation of Triassic-Jurassic fossil plants: integrating biosignatures and fossil diagenesis to understand microbial-related iron dynamics. Free access, Lethaia, 55: 1-16. See also here.
Note figure 8: Inferred biogeochemical cycle for the chemical stabilization of iron oxides into goethite in the studied material.
Figure 9: Inferred fossil diagenetic history for the studied fossil plants.
"... there are branches and leaves coated by iron crusts, attributed to the precipitation of iron oxide-oxyhydroxides. Underneath the crusts, the leaves retained minute anatomical features of their epidermal cells and stomatal complexes ..."

! A.K. Martins et al. (2022): Exceptional preservation of Triassic-Jurassic fossil plants: integrating biosignatures and fossil diagenesis to understand microbial-related iron dynamics. In PDF, Lethaia, 55.
See also here.
! Note figure 8: Inferred biogeochemical cycle for the chemical stabilization of iron oxides into goethite.
! Figure 9: Inferred fossil diagenetic history for fossil plants, sunken into iron-rich lakes or small ponds of fresh water.
Worth checking out: ! Chapter "Fossil diagenesis" (on PDF-page 12).

Gustavo Prado de Oliveira Martins et al. (2018): Are early plants significant as paleogeographic indicators of past coastlines? Insights from the taphonomy and sedimentology of a Devonian taphoflora of Paraná Basin, Brazil. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 505: 234–242. See also here.

J. Marugán-Lobón et al. (2022): The Las Hoyas Lagerstätte: a palaeontological look to an Early Cretaceous wetland. Open access, Journal of the Geological Society.
See also here (in PDF).
"... The site has yielded a particularly diverse assemblage of more than twenty thousand plant and animal fossils, many of which present unprecedented soft-tissue preservation, including microstructural details. Among the most significant discoveries are the oldest angiosperms, ..."

L. Marynowski et al. (2011): Effects of weathering on organic matter Part II: Fossil wood weathering and implications for organic geochemical and petrographic studies. Abstract, Organic Geochemistry, 42: 1076-1088.

D. Mauquoy et al. (2010): A protocol for plant macrofossil analysis of peat deposits. PDF file, Mires and Peat, 7.
Website outdated. The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! C. Mays et al. (2019): The botanical provenance and taphonomy of Late Cretaceous Chatham amber, Chatham Islands, New Zealand. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 260: 16–26. See also here.

! C.L. May and R.E. Gresswell (2003): Processes and rates of sediment and wood accumulation in the headwater streams of the Oregon Coast Range, U.S.A. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 28: 409-424. See also here.
! Note figure 5: Conceptual illustration of the changes in channel morphology based on the time since the previous debris flow.

M.R. McCurry et al. (2022): A Lagerstätte from Australia provides insight into the nature of Miocene mesic ecosystems. Free access, Sci. Adv., 8.
Note fig. 3H: Rugulatisporites trophus showing the imprint of exine.
Fig. 3I: Rugulatisporites sp. with both exine (arrowheads) and intine steinkern (S).

! J.C. McElwain et al. (2024): Functional traits of fossil plants. Open access, New Phytologist.
Note figure 2: Examples of fossil plant functional traits.
Figure 4: A ranked list of paleo-functional traits that can be applied to fossil plants.
"What plant remnants have withstood taphonomic filtering, fragmentation, and alteration in their journey to become part of the fossil record provide unique information on how plants functioned in paleo-ecosystems through their traits. Plant traits are measurable morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical, or phenological characteristics
[...] We demonstrate how valuable inferences on paleo-ecosystem processes (pollination biology, herbivory), past nutrient cycles, paleobiogeography, paleo-demography (life history), and Earth system history can be derived through the application of paleo-functional traits to fossil plants ..."

G. McLean (2017): A 'mystery fossil' is evidence for massive Devonian trees in Australia. In PDF, Records of the Australian Museum, 69: 101–118. See also here.
Note figure 10: A possible taphonomic process experienced by the Griffith specimen.

S. McLoughlin (2011): Glossopteris - insights into the architecture and relationships of an iconic Permian Gondwanan plant. In PDF, J. Botan. Soc. Bengal 65: 1-14.

J.G. Mendonça Filho et al.: Organic Facies: Palynofacies and Organic Geochemistry Approaches. In PDF.

R.L. Mitchell et al. (2023): Terrestrial surface stabilisation by modern analogues of the earliest land plants: A multi-dimensional imaging study. Open access, Geobiology.
Note figure 1: Summary chart highlighting the evolution of different CGC elements [cryptogamic ground covers] from contrasting molecular, phylogenetic and fossil dating methods, and schematic land plant phylogeny of modern terrestrial organisms, focussing on the bryophytes and specific liverwort genera.

P. Moissette et al. (2007): Spectacular preservation of seagrasses and seagrass-associated communities from the pliocene of rhodes, Greece. In PDF, Palaios, 22: 200–211.

G.R. Morton (2003: Non Catastrophic and Modern Fossilization. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. See also here

! M. Moskal-del Hoyo et al. (2010): Preservation of fungi in archaeological charcoal. In PDF, Journal of Archaeological Science, 37: 2106-2116. See also here.

Palaeobotany Research Group Münster, Germany:
! History of Palaeozoic Forests, MODES OF PRESERVATION. Link list page with picture rankings. The links give the most direct connections to pictures available on the web.
This expired link is available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! G.E. Mustoe (2015): Late Tertiary Petrified Wood from Nevada, USA: Evidence of Multiple Silicification Pathways. Geosciences, 5: 286-309.

National Computational Science Education Consortium (NCSEC): Module The Petrification Process of Wood. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. This website (NCSEC served as a national educational computational science clearinghouse) offers math and science teachers an array of online educational tools. Some parts a bit confusing. Go to: How Does Wood Petrify?

S.V. Naugolnykh (2012): Vetlugospermum and Vetlugospermaceae: A new genus and family of peltasperms from the Lower Triassic of Moscow syneclise (Russia). In PDF, Geobios, 45: 451–462.
! Note fig. 4 and 7: The phyto-taphonomical pathway of Vetlugospermum rombicum. Explanatory line drawings.

! S.V. Naugolnykh (2012): Vetlugospermum and Vetlugospermaceae: A new genus and family of peltasperms from the Lower Triassic of Moscow syneclise (Russia). In PDF, Geobios, 45: 451-462. See also here.
Embedment of plant remains in block-diagram reconstructions!

N. Nestle et al. (2018): Fossilized but functional – Tomographic insights into nature’s most resilient actuators. In PDF, Micro-CT User Meeting.
See also here (P. Gaupels, Geohorizon; in German).

N.R. O’Brien et al. (2008); Start on PDF-page 19: The role of biofilms in fossil preservation, Florissant Formation, Colorado. PDF file, In: Meyer, H.W., and Smith, D.M., eds., Paleontology of the Upper Eocene Florissant Formation, Colorado. The Geological Society of America, Special Paper 435: 19-31.
See also here.

S. Oplustil et al. (2014): T⁰ peat-forming plant assemblage preserved in growth position by volcanic ash-fall: A case study from the Middle Pennsylvanian of the Czech Republic. In PDF, Bulletin of Geosciences, 89: 773–818.

G.L. Osés (2016): Taphonomy of fossil groups from the crato member (Santana Formation), Araripe Basin, Early Cretaceous, North-east Brasil): geobiological, palaeoecological, and palaeoenvironmental implications. In PDF, Dissertation, Instituto de Geociências, São Paulo. See also here (abstract).

S.A. Owens et al. (1998): Degradation of the upper pulvinus in modern and fossil leaves of Cercis (Fabaceae). Open access, American Journal of Botany, 85: 273-284.

G. Pacyna and D. Zdebska (2012): Carboniferous plants preserved within sideritic nodules - a remarkable state of preservation providing a wealth of information. In PDF, Acta Palaeobotanica, 52: 247-2. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

V. Parmar, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNU), India: Unit-12 Plant Fossils and Gondwana Flora. In PDF. All in a nutshell, easy to understand lesson.

J. Parnell et al. (2022): Trace element geochemistry in the earliest terrestrial ecosystem, the Rhynie Chert. Open access, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 23: e2022GC010647.
Note figure 2: Schematic cross-section showing contribution of elements to Devonian chert-forming environment.
Figure 8: Contrast between plant-bearing chert and layers of phytodebris.
"... The Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert shows evidence for extensive phosphorus mobilization in plant debris that was pervasively colonized by fungi. Sandy sediment entrapped with fungi-rich phytodebris contains grains of the phosphate mineral monazite [...]
Abundant pyrite framboids in the Rhynie Chert indicate that plant decomposition included microbial sulphate reduction. ..."

J.T. Parrish et al. (2004): Jurassic "savannah"-plant taphonomy and climate of the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic, Western USA). In PDF, Sedimentary Geology.
See likewise here.

! L.A. Parry et al. (2018): Soft-Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses – Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation. Exceptional Fossil Preservation Is Complex and Involves the Interplay of Numerous Biological and Geological Processes.
Abstract, BioEssays, 40: 1700167. See also here (in PDF).
Note figure 1: The long journey from live organism to fossil. "... soft-bodied fossils have passed through numerous filters prior to discovery that remove, modify, or preserve anatomical characters. ..."
"... Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of other key processes that remove or preserve morphological information".

T.E. Pedernera et al. (2023): The influence of volcanic activity and trophic state on plant taphonomic processes in Triassic lacustrine-deltaic systems of western Gondwana. Free access, Lethaia, 54: 521–539.

S.P. Peterson et al. (2023): A multistage model of preservation in fossil plants from the Llewellyn Formation (Pennsylvanian), St. Clair, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 316.
See likewise here.

! M. Philippe et al. (2022): Life in the woods: Taphonomic evolution of a diverse saproxylic community within fossil woods from Upper Cretaceous submarine mass flow deposits (Mzamba Formation, southeast Africa). Gondwana Research, 109: 113–133. See also here.
Note fig. 5: Summary of the taphonomic pathways experienced by the Mzamba Formation fossil woods indicating the range of biotic interactions in various environmental settings.

! M. Philippe (2021): Three early plant taphonomy experiments (1833-1836). Open access, Acta Palaeobotanica, 61: 187–194

N. Planavsky and R.N. Ginsburg (2009): Taphonomy of Modern Marine Bahamian Microbialites. PALAIOS, 24: 5–17.

Imogen Poole, Department of Earth Sciences, Geochemistry, Utrecht University: TAPHONOMY & PRESERVATION OF WOOD. Research projects.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

I. Poole et al. (2004): Molecular isotopic heterogeneity of fossil organic matter: implications for δ13Cbiomass and δ13Cpalaeoatmosphere proxies. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 35: 1261-1274.
See here as well.

! M.E. Popa (2011): Field and laboratory techniques in plant compressions: an integrated approach. In PDF, Acta Palaeontologica Romaniae.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here and there.

S. Poppinga et al. (2016): Hygroscopic motions of fossil conifer cones. Scientific Reports, 7.

R. Prevec (2011): A structural re-interpretation and revision of the type material of the glossopterid ovuliferous fructification Scutum from South Africa. In PDF, Palaeont. afr., 46: 1–19.
See also here and there (abstract).
Please take notice of the sketch in fig 3 on PDF page 6, showing depressed seed scars of the apical portion of a Scutum leslii fructification.

J. Psenicka and S. Oplustil (2013): The epiphytic plants in the fossil record and its example from in situ tuff from Pennsylvanian of Radnice Basin (Czech Republic). In PDF, Bulletin of Geosciences, 88.

G.J. Retallack (2018): Leaf preservation in Eucalyptus woodland as a model for sclerophyll fossil floras. In PDF, Alcheringa. See also here.

J.W.F. Reumer et al. (2020): The Rhaetian/Hettangian dipterid fern Clathropteris meniscioides Brongniart found in erratics in the eastern Netherlands and adjacent Germany. In PDF, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen. 295: 297–306.

G.M. Rex (1986): Further experimental investigations on the formation of plant compression fossils. Abstract. See also here

! G.M. Rex 1984): The formation of plant compression fossils: Experimental and sedimentological investigations. In PDF, Thesis, University of London. See also here.

! G.M. Rex, W.G. Chaloner (1983): The experimental formation of plant compression fossils. PDF file, Palaeontology, 26: 231-252.
See also here.

Authored by the The Rhynie Chert Research Group, University of Aberdeen, with contributions and support by the Palaeobotanical Research Group, University of Münster, Germany, the Centre for Palynology, University of Sheffield, The Natural History Museum, London, and The Royal Museum, National Museums of Scotland: The Biota of Early Terrestrial Ecosystems, The Rhynie Chert. A resource site for students and teachers covering many aspects of the present knowledge of this unique geological deposit (including a glossary and bibliography pages). Go to: Taphonomy of the Rhynie Chert, and Silicification and the Conversion of Sinter to Chert.

A.C. Ribeiro et al. (2021): Towards an actualistic view of the Crato Konservat-Lagerstätte paleoenvironment: a new hypothesis as an Early Cretaceous (Aptian) equatorial and semi-arid wetland. Abstract, Earth-Science Reviews, 216.
"... The Aptian Crato Formation of the Lower Cretaceous Santana Group [...] Araripe Basin, northeastern Brazil, is renowned worldwide owing to its exceptionally preserved fossils
[...] Most fossils are to be considered autochthonous to parautochthonous and have been preserved in distinct stages of base-level fluctuations within a shallow lacustrine depositional system, subject to periodic flooding in large, depressed areas ..."

F. Ricardi-Branco et al. (2020): Actualistic Taphonomy of Plant Remains in Tropical Forests of Southeastern Brazil. Actualistic Taphonomy in South America, pp 111-138. See also here (in PDF).

S. Riehl et al. (2015): Plant use and local vegetation patterns during the second half of the Late Pleistocene in southwestern Germany. In PDF, Archaeol. Anthropol. Sci.
See also here.

A. Rosas et al. (2022): The scarcity of fossils in the African rainforest. Archaeo-paleontological surveys and actualistic taphonomy in Equatorial Guinea. In PDF, Historical Biology, DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2022.2057226.
See also here.

R. Rößler (2009): 300 Jahre Schatzsuche in Chemnitz: Die wissenschaftliche Grabung nach dem versteinerten Wald. In German (PDF file), Fossilien, 26.
Now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! R. Rößler et al. (2008): Auf Schatzsuche in Chemnitz – Wissenschaftliche Grabungen `08. PDF file, in German. Veröffentlichungen des Museums für Naturkunde Chemnitz, 31: 05-44.
"... This contribution provides an overview and first results of the Natural History Museum’s scientific excavation,
[...] The whole tuff section provided plenty of fossil finds; some of the trunks still remained standing upright (in-situ) in growth position. The set of Permian age plants evidenced at this excavation belongs to a diverse mainly hygrophilous community made of cordaitaleans, medullosan seed ferns, calamitaleans and tree ferns. Of special scientific interest is a cordaitalean gymnosperm trunk showing branching in different height levels and some Arthropitys specimens one of these showing for the first time the diverse branched top of a calamitalean trunk ..."

R. Rößler and M. Barthel(1998): Rotliegend taphocoenoses preservation favoured by rhyolitic explosive volcanism. In PDF, Freiberger Forschungshefte C, 474: 59–101. See also here.

Gar Rothwell and Ruth Stockey (instructors), Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR:
! Fossil History of Plants. Lecture notes, excellent.
These expired links are now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

A.C. Rozefelds et al. (2024): Born of fire, borne by water – Review of paleo-environmental conditions, floristic assemblages and modes of preservation as evidence of distinct silicification pathways for silcrete floras in Australia Gondwana Research, 130: 234–249.
See also here.
Note figure 3: Schematic diagram showing the stages involved in preservation of a mould of a branch of Proteaceae or Casuarinaceae wood and leaves.
Figure 6: Schematic diagram comparing pathways of silicification of plant tissues in sub-basaltic and fluvial silcretes.

A.J. Sagasti et al. (2021): Plant Taphonomy and Paleoenvironment of the Bahía Laura Complex, Middle–Late Jurassic, at the Laguna Flecha Negra Locality (Santa Cruz Province, Argentina)In PDF, Ameghiniana, 58: 207-222. See also here (abstract).

J.P. Saldanha et al. (2023): Deciphering the origin of dubiofossils from the Pennsylvanian of the Paraná Basin, Brazil. Free access, Biogeosciences, 20: 3943–3979.
Note figure 1: Representative cross-section of Earth’s crust showing the diversity of inhabited extreme environments, besides the common biosphere, and the contribution of abiotic and biotic minerals in the sedimentary cycle.
"... any geological object, whether abiotic or biotic, must be understood in terms of its formation and original conditions, as well as the subsequent processes that contribute to its maintenance, modification, or destruction ..."

S. Saha et al. (2023): Fine root decomposition in forest ecosystems: an ecological perspective. Free access, Front. Plant Sci., 14. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1277510.

E. Salmon et al. (2009): Early maturation processes in coal. Part 1: Pyrolysis mass balance and structural evolution of coalified wood from the Morwell Brown Coal seam. PDF file, Organic Geochemistry, 40: 500-509.

! M.H. Scheihing and H.W. Pfefferkorn (1984): The taphonomy of land plants in the orinoco delta: A model for the incorporation of plant parts in clastic sediments of late carboniferous age of euramerica. Abstract.

J.D. Schiffbauer et al. (2012): Thermally-induced structural and chemical alteration of organic-walled microfossils: an experimental approach to understanding fossil preservation in metasediments. In PDF, Geobiology, 10: 402-423.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.

Sabine Schmidt, Gravity Research Group, Institut für Geowissenschaften, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany: Die Erde (in German).
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
Go to: Biostratonomie: Fossildiagenese. Scroll down to: "Die Erhaltung von Pflanzen" (in German).

J.W. Schopf (1999; Article starts on page 88, PDF page 105):
Fossils and Pseudofossils: Lessons from the Hunt for Early Life on Earth. In PDF; In: Proceedings of the Workshop on Size Limits of Very Small Organisms, Space Studies Board, National Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
See also here, and there.

P.H. Schultz et al. (2014): Preserved flora and organics in impact melt breccias. In PDF, abstract, 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. See also here. Abstract free.

A.C. Scott (2024): Carboniferous wildfire revisited: Wildfire, post-fire erosion and deposition in a Mississippian crater lake. In PDF, Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 135: 416-437.
See likewiswe here.
Note figure 6c–e. Scanning electron micrographs of charred Metaclepsydropsis.
! Figure 13f-h: Scanning electron micrograph of charcoalified pteridosperm leaf dissolved from Pettycur Limestone block.

! A.C. Scott and M.E. Collinson (2003): Non-destructive multiple approaches to interpret the preservation of plant fossils: implications for calcium-rich permineralisations. PDF file, Journal of the Geological Society, 160: 857-862. See also here.
"Specimens were observed using transmitted light, polarized light, reflected light under oil, and cathodoluminescence. Selected areas were studied using a variable pressure SEM in backscattered electron mode. [...] Results reveal that anatomical interpretations based merely on observations of thin sections in transmitted light can be very misleading ..."

Andrew C. Scott (website provided by science.jrank.org): Fossil plants, The nature of fossil plants, The uses of fossil plants.
Website saved by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! A.C. Scott (1990): 3.10 Anatomical Preservation of Fossil Plants. PDF file, scroll to page 263! Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
Article in: Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.): Paleobiology: A Synthesis. Navigate from the contents file (PDF).

! A. Scott and M. Collinson (1983): Investigating fossil plant beds. Part 2: Methods of palaeoenvironmental analysis and modelling and suggestions for experimental work.
Geology Teaching, 8.

! A. Scott and M. Collinson (1982): Investigating fossil plant beds. Part 1: The origin of fossil plants and their sediments. PDF file, Geology Teaching, 7: 114-122. Excellent!

! A. Seilacher et al. (1985): Sedimentological, ecological and temporal patterns of fossil Lagerstätten. In PDF, Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London, B, Biological sciences, 311: 5-23.
! See also here.

Shelf and Slope Environmental Taphonomy Initiative (SSETI), Caribbean Marine Research Center, Lee Stocking Island, Bahamas (Organization National Undersea Research Programme Rutgers University). The SSETI programme was established to measure taphonomic rates in a range of continental shelf and slope environments of deposition over an extended period of time.

M.W. Simas et al. (2013): An accurate record of volcanic ash fall deposition as characterized by dispersed organic matter in a lower Permian tonstein layer (Faxinal Coalfield, Paraná Basin, Brazil). In PDF, Geologica Acta, 11: 45-57.

! S. Simon (2016): Sedimentology of the Fluvial Systems of the Clear Fork Formation in North-Central Texas: Implications for Early Permian Paleoclimate and Plant Fossil Taphonomy. In PDF, Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
See especially PDF page 185: "Taphonomy and Preservation of Plant Material".
Goethite petrification of cellular structure of plant remains on PDF page 188.

H.J. Sims (2012): The evolutionary diversification of seed size: using the past to understand the present. Open access, Evolution, 66: 1636–1649, https://doi.org/10.1111.
"... The fossil record indicates that the oldest seed plants had relatively small seeds, but the Mississippian seed size envelope increased significantly with the diversification of larger seeded lineages
[...] Quantitative measures of preservation suggest that, although our knowledge of Paleozoic seeds is far from complete, the evolutionary trend in seed size is unlikely to be an artifact of taphonomy ..."

H.J. Sims and J.A. Cassara (2009): The taphonomic fidelity of seed size in fossil assemblages: a live-dead case study. Abstract, in PDF, Palaios, 24: 387-393.
See also here.

P.A. Siver (2020): Remarkably preserved cysts of the extinct synurophyte, Mallomonas ampla, uncovered from a 48 Ma freshwater Eocene lake. In PDF, Scientific Reports, 10: 5204.

James "Bo" Slone, Department of Geology, Auburn University, AL: Taphonomy of Holocene Palynomorphs in the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, Alabama. Thesis proposal.

Selena Y. Smith et al. (2009): Virtual taphonomy using synchrotron tomographic microscopy reveals cryptic features and internal structure of modern and fossil plants. PDF file, PNAS, 106: 12013-12018. See also here (abstract).

Smithsonian Science: Fungi still visible in wood charcoal centuries after burning.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

J.M. Souza and R. Iannuzzi (2012): Dispersal Syndromes of fossil Seeds from the Lower Permian of Paraná Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Click: "PDF in English". An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc., 84: 3-68.

Michael Spann, School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Birmingham:
Coal.
Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

! M. Speranza et al. (2015): Cretaceous mycelia preserving fungal polysaccharides: taphonomic and paleoecological potential of microorganisms preserved in fossil resins. In PDF, Geologica acta, 13.
See likewise here.
Note figure 8: Schema of the main taphonomic processes in their sedimentary context showing the three scenarios inferred of the fungal growth within non-solidified resin.

! R.A. Spicer (1991): Plant taphonomic processes. PDF file, in: Allison, P.A., Briggs, D.E.G. (eds.), Taphonomy: Releasing the Data Locked in the Fossil Record. Plenum, New York, pp. 72-113.

! R.A. Spicer (1989): The formation and interpretation of plant fossil assemblages Advances in botanical research (Google books). See also here (abstract).

R.A. Spicer (1981): The sorting and deposition of allochthonous plant material in a modern environment at Silwood Lake, Silwood Park, Berkshire, England. See also here (in PDF).

! R.A. Spicer (1977): The pre-depositional formation of some leaf impressions. PDF file, Palaeontology, 20: 907–912.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

R. Spiekermann et al. (2018): A remarkable mass-assemblage of lycopsid remains from the Rio Bonito Formation, lower Permian of the Paraná Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In PDF, Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 98: 369–384. See also here.

B.A. Stankiewicz et al. (1998): Molecular taphonomy of arthropod and plant cuticles from the Carboniferous of North America: implications for the origin of kerogen. In PDF, Journal of the Geological Society, 155: 453-462.
See also here.

! D.C. Steart et al. (2009): The chemical constraints upon leaf decay rates: Taphonomic implications among leaf species in Australian terrestrial and aquatic environments. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 157: 358-374. See also here.

D.C. Steart et al. (2006): Overland transport of leaves in two forest types in southern Victoria, Australia and its implications for palaeobotanical studies. In PDF, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria, 118: 65-74.

D.C. Steart (2003): The Fate of Leaves in South Eastern Australian Terrestrial and Aquatic Environments: Implications for taphonomic bias in the Tertiary macrofossil record. In PDF, Thesis, Victoria University.
See also here.
! Note figure 1.5 (PDF page 64): Generalised diagram outlining the fate of aerial canopy parts in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Hans Steur, Ellecom, The Netherlands: Hans´ Paleobotany Pages. Plant life from the Silurian to the Cretaceous. See also:
Exceptionally preserved plant fossils from Crock Hey.

! M.R. Stoneman et al. (2024): Two-photon excitation fluorescence microspectroscopy protocols for examining fluorophores in fossil plants. Open access, Communications Biology, 7.
"... In this work, we utilize two-photon fluorescence microspectroscopy to spatially and spectrally resolve the fluorescence emitted by amber-embedded plants, leaf compressions, and silicified wood
[...] This research opens doors to exploring ancient ecosystems and understanding the ecological roles of fluorescence in plants throughout time. ..."

P.K. Strother (2010): Thalloid carbonaceous incrustations and the asynchronous evolution of embryophyte characters during the Early Paleozoic. PDF file, International Journal of Coal Geology.
See also here.

P.M.V. Subbarao, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi:
Modeling of Fossil Fuel Formation. Lecture notes, Powerpoint presentation.

! S.C. Sweetman and A.N. Insole (2010): The plant debris beds of the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, southern England: their genesis and palaeontological significance. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 292: 409-424.

L.H. Tanner and S.G. Lucas (2013): Degraded wood in the Upper Triassic Petrified Forest Formation (Chinle Group), northern Arizona: Differentiating fungal rot from arthropod boring. In PDF, p. 582-588; in: Tanner, L.H., Spielmann, J.A. and Lucas, S.G. (eds.): The Triassic System. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Bulletin, 61.

TAPHOS 2011, Institute of Geosciences, University of Tübingen. The programme (in PDF) can be downloaded here.

P.D. Taylor (1990): Preservation of soft-bodied and other organisms by bioimmuration - a review. In PDF, Palaeontology, 33.
Download a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.
See especially on PDF page 11: Fig. 2: Zooids on the alga Fosliella inexpectata, Upper Maastrichtian.

! T.N. Taylor and J.M. Osborn (1992): The Role of Wood in Understanding Saprophytism in the Fossil Record. PDF file, Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg, 147: 147-153.

! I. Théry-Parisot et al. (2010): Anthracology and taphonomy, from wood gathering to charcoal analysis. A review of the taphonomic processes modifying charcoal assemblages, in archaeological contexts Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 291: 142–153.
See also here.

B.A. Thomas (1986): The formation of large diameter plant fossil moulds and the Walton theory of compaction. In PDF, Geological Journal, 21: 381–385. See also here (abstract).

B.A. Thomas and C.J. Cleal (2015): Cyclones and the formation of plant beds in late Carboniferous tropical swamps. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 95: 531–536. See also here (in PDF).

! A.M.F. Tomescu et al. (2018): Why Are Bryophytes So Rare in the Fossil Record? A Spotlight on Taphonomy and Fossil Preservation Transformative Paleobotany. Abstract. In: Papers to Commemorate the Life and Legacy of Thomas N. Taylor. Pages 375-416. See also here (in PDF).
! A.M.F. Tomescu et al. (2017): The bryophyte fossil record database, Paleozoic through Paleogene. Zip-file (doc), hosted by Book companion - Transformative Paleobotany.
"The tables contain mosses and liverworts and hornworts, respectively, arranged in alphabetical order. Each entry represents a taxonomically and stratigraphically distinct (i.e., in terms of rock unit) occurrence".

! A.M.F. Tomescu et al. (2016): Microbes and the fossil record: selected topics in paleomicrobiology. Abstract, in: Hurst C. (ed.) Their World: A Diversity of Microbial Environments. Advances in Environmental Microbiology, vol 1: 69-169. See also here (in PDF).

A. Tosal et al. (2022): Plant taphonomy and palaeoecology of Pennsylvanian wetlands from the Erillcastell Basin of the eastern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain. In PDF, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 605.
See also here.
"... A specimen of C. undulatus (50 cm long and 5 cm wide) was found charred and in an upright position within a pyroclastic bed intercalated in these shales ..."
Note figure 6; Plant taphonomic features. See especially:
Figure 6C: Charred Calamites undulatus stem crossing an ignimbrite deposit.

M. Tripp et al. (2023): Biomarkers Differentiate True Ferns from Seed Ferns & Present a Unique Preservation Mode in Siderite Concretions (Mazon Creek). In PDF, 31^st International Meeting on Organic Geochemistry (IMOG) Montpellier, France.
"... Through scrutiny of the unusual occurrence of predominant C₃₀ hopanoid and aromatised arborane/fernane biomarkers in Carboniferous ‘true ferns’ (e.g. Pecopteris sp.), we demonstrate the value of studying the biomarker preservation of individual fossil specimens ..."

D. Uhl (2013): The paleoflora of Frankenberg/Geismar (NW-Hesse, Germany) - a largely unexplored "treasure chest" of anatomically preserved plants from the Late Permian (Wuchiapingian) of the Euramerican floral province. PDF file; In: Lucas, S.G., et al. eds., The Carboniferous-Permian Transition. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Bulletin, 60, 433-443.

! D. Uhl (2004): Anatomy and taphonomy of a coniferous wood from the Zechstein (Upper Permian) of NW-Hesse (Germany). In PDF, Geodiversitas, 26: 391-401.
See also here.

! P.F. van Bergen et al. (1995): Resistant biomacromolecules in the fossil record. Abstract, Acta botanica neerlandica. See also here (in PDF).

S. Sheila Villalba-Breva et al. (2015): Plant taphonomy and palaeoenvironment from the Upper Cretaceous of Isona, Tremp Basin, southern Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain. In PDF, Cretaceous Research, 54: 34-49.

S. Villalba Breva et al. (2012): Peat-forming plants in the Maastrichtian coals of the Eastern Pyrenees. In PDF, Geologica Acta, 10.

! M. Viney et al. (2017): The Bruneau Woodpile: A Miocene Phosphatized Fossil Wood Locality in Southwestern Idaho, USA. Open access, Geosciences, 7.
Note fig. 14: Streambank exposure reveals three successive lahar wood mats containing rough-surfaced fragments of mummified wood.

K. Vogt et al. (2007): Seed deposition in drift lines: Opportunity or hazard for species establishment? Aquatic Botany, 86: 385-392.

Steve Wagner (paleontological volunteer at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science): Paleocurrents.com: Mainly nice photo galleries of fossil plants. Go to: Castle Rock Fossil Rainforest. Please take notice: THE MEANDERING RIVER. See also: DETERIORATION EXPERIMENT. When good fossils go bad.

Jun Wang et al. (2012): Permian vegetational Pompeii from Inner Mongolia and its implications for landscape paleoecology and paleobiogeography of Cathaysia. In PDF, PNAS. See also:
Ash-covered forest is "Permian Pompeii" (S. Perkins, Nature).
Penn researcher helps discover and characterize a 300-million-year-forest.
The Lost Forest.

B.G. Warner (1988): Methods in Quaternary Ecology# 3. Plant Macrofossils. In PDf, Geoscience Canada.

J. Watson and K.L. Alvin (1976): Silicone rubber casts of silicified plants from the Cretaceous of Sudan. PDF file, Palaeontology, 19: 641–650.
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

M. Widera (2015): Compaction of lignite: a review of methods and results. In PDF, Acta Geologica Polonica, 65.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
! Taphonomy.
Lagerstätte.
! Category:Fossilization.
Compression fossil.
Carbonaceous film.
Endocast.
Permineralization.
Petrifaction.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Taphonomy, and Fossilisationslehre (in German).

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Category:Fossils.
Category:Paleontological sites.
List of fossil sites.
Category:Lagerstätten.
! Lagerstätte.
Category:Crato Formation.
Rhynie chert.
Joggins Formation.
Mazon Creek fossil beds.
Green River Formation.
London Clay.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (in German):
Kategorie:Fossillagerstätte in Deutschland.
Grube Messel.
Fossillagerstätte Rott.
Fossillagerstätte Geiseltal.

! C.J. Williams (2011): A Paleoecological Perspective on Wetland Restoration. In PDF, go to PDF page 67. In: B.A. LePage (ed.): Wetlands. Integrating Multidisciplinary Concepts.
See also here.
Note especially PDF page 77: "wood".

Kathy Willis and Jennifer McElwain: The Evolution of Plants. Oxford University Press, Second Edition. Don't miss the
Companion Website
and some samples in Google books.
Note chapter 1: The evolutionary record and methods of reconstruction (in PDF).

S.L. Wing and W.A. DiMichele (1995): Conflict between Local and Global Changes in Plant Diversity through Geological Time. PDF file, Palaios, 10: 551-564. See also here (abstract).

C.R. Witkowski et al. (2022): Tissue decay tested in modern Metasequoia leaves: Implications for early diagenesis of leaves in fossil Lagerstätten. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

C. Witkowski (2014): Mimicking Early Stages Of Diagenesis In Modern Metasequoia Leaves Implications For Plant Fossil Lagerstätten. In PDF, Thesis in Global Environmental Studies, Department of Science and Technology, Bryant University (Master of Science in Global Environmental Studies).
See also here. Abstract, Session No. 17: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Taphonomy: The Impact of Morphological, Molecular, and Isotopic Changes on Environmental Proxies. Northeastern Section, 49th Annual Meeting, The Geological Society of America.

! K.J. Wójcicki (2023): Current and paleo sources of organic material within fluvial features of the meandering Ruda River, Poland. Free access, Catena, 219.
Note table 1: Sediment-forming OM identified in the Ruda Valley.
Figure 10: The main forms of organic remains in the sedimentary subenvironments of the Ruda floodplain.
"... During floods, the most significant phenomenon is the deposition of wood and leaf debris; however, these debris are subject to rapid decomposition in sandy layers and, as a result, do not contribute much to the total OM [organic matter] composition.

Ewan Wolff, Montana State University Geoscience Education Web Development Team: Advances in Paleontology.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

C.H. Woolley et al. (2024): Quantifying the effects of exceptional fossil preservation on the global availability of phylogenetic data in deep time: Open access, PLoS ONE, 19. e0297637. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0297637.
"... we quantify the amount of phylogenetic information available in the global fossil records of 1,327 species of non-avian theropod dinosaurs, Mesozoic birds, and fossil squamates [...] and then compare the influence of lagerstätten deposits on phylogenetic information content and taxon selection in phylogenetic analyses to other fossil-bearing deposits ..."

Student group, ?University of Alberta, WordPress @ Bio-Sci (a website provided for Biological Sciences):
! Paleobotany . Numerous photographs of fossil plants, taxonomically sorted, e.g.:
Sphenophytes.

S. Yashina et al. (2012): Regeneration of whole fertile plants from 30,000-y-old fruit tissue buried in Siberian permafrost. In PDF, PNAS, 109: 4008-4013.
See also here.
"... This natural cryopreservation of plant tissue over many thousands of years demonstrates a role for permafrost as a depository for an ancient gene pool, ..."
Also worth checking out: Scientists revive a 30,000 year old Pleistocene-era plant (by Gareth Branwyn, October 7, 2022).

K.E. Zeigler et al. (2005): Taphonomic analysis of a fire-related Upper Triassic vertebrate fossil assemblage from north-central New Mexico. PDF file; New Mexico Geological Society, 56^th Field Conference Guidebook, Geology of the Chama Basin, 2005, p.341-351.

E.L. Zodrow and J.A. D'angelo (2013): Digital compression maps: an improved method for studying Carboniferous foliage. In PDF, Atlantic Geology, 49. See also here and there.
"... The image of any freed frond segment of compression foliage that has been reprocessed digitally to represent its original structure is called a compression map. ..."

! E.L. Zodrow et al. (2010): Medullosalean fusain trunk from the roof rocks of a coal seam: Insight from FTIR and NMR (Pennsylvanian Sydney Coalfield, Canada). In PDF, International Journal of Coal Geology, 82: 16-124.

L. Zhang et al. (2021): First fossil foliage record in the red beds from the Upper Jurassic in the Sichuan Basin, southern China. In PDF, Geological Journal. See also here.