A BRIEF REVIEW OF POPULUS FOSSILS FROM THE TIBETAN PLATEAU

Populus L. is an ecologically important tree genus in the Northern Hemisphere temperate forest. In this paper we summarize the Populus fossil records from the Paleogene and Neogene of the Tibetan Plateau with updated stratigraphic and chronological data. Fossil evidence shows that Populus first occurred in the plateau in the latest Eocene. The genus is well-documented in the southern and northern Tibetan Plateau in the Oligocene and Miocene, but lacking in the central plateau. Most of the fossil floras in the Tibetan Plateau containing Populus are temperate, deciduous and broadleaved, riparian vegetation, further confirming that the genus had favored a temperate and riparian environment in their early evolutionary history. Besides, the high diversity and prominent dominance of Populus in early Oligocene flora in the northern Tibetan Plateau suggests this region had played an important role in the early diversification stage of Populus.

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