青年创新奖获奖者 苏涛

      苏涛，生于1982年7月。博士，中科院西双版纳热带植物园研究员，博士生导师。2005年在四川农业大学获学士学位，2005年至2011年在中科院昆明植物所硕博连读，获得博士学位。2011年至今在中科院西双版纳热带植物园热带森林生态学重点实验室工作，现为古生态研究组组长。2019年获得国家自然科学基金“优秀青年基金”项目资助。目前担任中国古生物学会理事，中国植物学会古植物学分会委员，中国第四纪研究会古生物分会委员，参加第二次青藏高原综合科学考察研究。主要围绕青藏高原新生代化石植物群开展相关研究，为青藏高原的植物多样性演变历史与古环境变化过程提供了全新的古植物学证据，目前在Science Advances、National Science Review、Geology、Paleobiolgoy、American Journal of Botany、Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology等国际学术期刊发表论文80余篇。

      苏涛博士围绕“青藏高原和邻近地区新生代的植物多样性演变及其对环境变化的响应”这一核心科学问题开展多学科的前沿交叉研究。所取得的主要成果包括：

      1. 地质时期植物多样性。长期坚持在青藏高原及其邻近地区开展野外科学考察，17次进藏，参加了第二次青藏高原综合科学考察研究。目前系统采集到植物化石材料3万余份，成为保存青藏高原新生代植物化石标本数量最多、地质年代最全的研究力量。结合传统古植物学和新技术，研究并发表了包括西藏沙巴棕、西藏胡颓子、高原半菱角等在内的32个化石植物新分类群，其中8个属是在青藏高原首次发现，极大地丰富和改变了对于青藏高原及其邻近地区地质时期植物多样性面貌的已有认知。

      2. 植物多样性现代化面貌的起源。通过古植物学和地层年代学相结合，提出青藏高原东南缘植物多样性现代化面貌较以往的认识早约2000万年的观点。在云南吕合发现与现代植被面貌极为相似的化石植物群，通过古植物学的深入研究，以及测定同一地层的火山岩绝对地质年代，证明青藏高原东南缘的植物多样性现代化面貌不晚于早渐新世就已经出现，上述结论进一步得到了近期对西藏东部晚始新世芒康植物群研究结果的支持。

      3. 青藏高原隆升历史。利用古植物学证据和相关模型，定量重建了青藏高原不同时代的古海拔和古地貌，为高原的差异隆升历史提供了新的视角。提出青藏高原东南缘在始新世到渐新世之交经历了一定的隆升，并达到现在的高度。以青藏高原中部伦坡拉盆地的大型棕榈化石为研究材料，结合古气候模型模拟，发现青藏高原中部2500万年以前为高山峡谷地貌，最低处不超过2300米，直到新近纪才整体达到现在的高度。

      4. 古气候模型与古气候定量重建。基于中国从南至北不同森林类型的叶片采样数据，建立了叶缘–年均温中国模型和PhysgAsia1模型，并讨论了叶相特征与降雨量参数相关性在亚洲季风气候区的特殊性，相关的模型已经在欧亚新生代植物群古气候定量重建中得到了广泛的应用。利用上述模型重建了青藏高原东南缘多个新近纪植物群的古气候，发现该地区的季风气候在中新世就已经建立，并经历了逐渐增强的过程。

      5.生物多样性对环境变化的响应。发现新近纪以来季风气候的演变是影响青藏高原东南缘现代生物多样性演化的重要驱动因素。基于雪松化石记录、古气候、古生态及植物生理学等证据，提出“季风气候是塑造青藏高原东南缘植物多样性演化重要因素”的假说，这一观点得到了水杉属、红杉属等化石植物类群的验证。另外，发现晚上新世以来的剧烈气候变化，并没有对青藏高原东南缘高山栎林中的植食性昆虫多样性产生明显的抑制作用，因此高山栎林对植食性昆虫多样性的演化起着重要的促进作用。

Prof. SU Tao, Principle investigator, PhD supervisor. 2005, BSc, Sichuan Agriculture University, China; 2011, PhD, Kunming Institute of Botany, CAS, China. He has been working in Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, CAS since 2011, and received the “National Fund for Excellent Young Scholars” in 2019. He is council member of Paleontological Society of China, and Quaternary Research Society of China. He has participated the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition since 2017. He is interested in the evolution of plant diversity and associated paleoenvironmental background on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. He has hosted more than 10 scientific grants and published more than 80 scientific papers in international journals, such as Science Advances, National Science Review, Geology, Paleobiolgoy, American Journal of Botany, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology.

Dr. SU Tao studies the evolution of plant diversity and related paleoenvironmental background during the Cenozoic. He uses cutting-edge methods with multidiscipline to understand the evolution of plant diversity under dramatic paleoenvironmental changes during the Cenozoic in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and regions nearby. His research achievements include:

1. Plant diversity in deep time: He does field expedition to collect plant fossils on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and regions nearby for quite a long time. His research group has collected more than 30,000 plant fossil specimens, making them the top group worldwide concerning on specimen numbers and geological ages of Cenozoic floras on the plateau. Together with traditional approaches and new technologies, he has published 32 new fossil taxa, such as Sabalitestibetensis, Elaeagnustibetensis, and Hemitrapaalpina. Among them, eight genera are reported on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau for the first time. All these new fossil taxa have largely improved our understanding of plant diversity in the geological past in this region.

2. The history for modernization of plant diversity: The modernization of plant diversity in southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau had occurred 20 Ma earlier than previously thought by using paleobotany and chronostratigraphy. A flora in Lühe, Yunnan Province is quite similar to modern floristic assemblages, the age of the flora is revised by radiometric dating with volcanic rocks from the same layer. It suggests that the modernization of plant diversity existed by the late Oligocene, this result is further supported by the late Eocene Mangkang flora from eastern Xizang published recently.

3. The uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: Paleoelevations and topography in different geological ages of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau were explored by evidences from paleobotany and models, providing new insight for the differential surface uplift of the plateau. The southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau uplifted during the Eocene-Oligocene Transition and reached to present elevation during the early Oligocene. Besides, a valley system with lowland less than 2300 meters existed in central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau by 25 Ma according to palm fossil record from the Lunpola Basin and relevant modelling. It is not until Neogene that central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau gradually attained to present elevation.

4. Paleoclimate reconstructions: Models of Leaf Margin Analysis (LMA-China) and PhysgAsia1 were established based on leaf samples from modern forests across China, the relationship between leaf physiognomy and climate parameters is different in Asian monsoon regions. These new models have been widely used in paleoclimate reconstructions of Eurasian Cenozoic floras by international colleagues. With the application of these models to paleofloras, it suggests that the monsoonal climate already existed in southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the Miocene, and gradually intensified since then.

5. Biodiversity in response to paleoenvironmental changes: Together with evidence from fossil records, paleoclimate, paleoecology and plant physiology, it indicates that the evolution of monsoonal climate during the Neogene is a major factor contributing to the distribution pattern of biodiversity in southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Meanwhile, insect damages on leaves of alpine oak forests did not decrease under climate change since the late Pliocene, which suggests that the alpine oak forests are important for the accumulation of diverse herbivore fauna.

第二届吴征镒植物学奖青年创新奖获得者苏涛研究员