The end of a tree's life, what is it?
When trees are buried in the soil, most of them will oxidize, decompose, and decay, thus "turning into spring mud and protecting flowers". And there are very few trees that will be reborn in another way under the magic of nature.
Rare fossil wood communities
A rare group of wood fossils in Cuiping Mountain Park
Standing in front of Masang Rock, Cuiping Mountain, Wenlong Street, Qijiang District, the breeze blows through the 100 million-year-old "ancient tree", sending ancient greetings. One by one, the "big trees" lie reclining on the ground, and the bark texture, growth rings, and wood fiber structure on them are still clearly visible. Here is the fossil wood group located in the Cuipingshan Park of Chongqing Qijiang National Geopark.
Wood fossils, as the name suggests, are fossils that turn from trees into stone. It sounds very simple, but the formation of wood fossils is actually the result of a combination of small probability events, and its ability to show people in communities is even rarer.
According to Zhou Ling, director of the Qijiang Museum, hundreds of millions of years ago, trees in primeval forests were quickly buried in the ground by sediment, which was usually caused by sudden disasters such as volcanic eruptions. The secondary woody part of the tree buried in the ground is replaced by silica and other substances in the groundwater solution, resulting in petrification and the gradual formation of wood fossils. Although these wood fossils retain the trunk form and internal structure, they are actually stone. Nature has this ability to "turn decay into magic".
Fossilized wood sleeps peacefully for hundreds of millions of years
In 2005, Masangyan was a busy quarry. One day, a group of quarrymen found black-brown stones during construction, thus revealing a secret that had been buried for hundreds of millions of years.
Geologists from all over the country came here, and after investigation and demonstration, they believed that these wood fossils were gymnosperm fossils of the pine family, formed in the Jurassic period when dinosaurs flourished, and have been sleeping underground for 140 million to 170 million years.
Huge wood fossils
The symbiosis of wood fossilization and calcification of Masangyan, unique genesis type, strong ornamentation, large number, rich form, large individual, rare in China, is currently one of the largest and most complete preserved ancient wood fossil groups in southwest China, which shows its rarity.
Wood fossils and dinosaur fossils live together, carrying a lot of information, which is the key to understanding the paleogeography, paleoenvironment, paleoclimate and dinosaurs at that time, and provides a scientific basis for studying the changes of geological relics and the evolution of paleogeography and paleoenvironment, which shows its preciousness.
It is generally believed that wood fossils are formed in an oxidizing environment, and coal is formed in a reducing environment, and the coexistence of wood fossils and bark coal here is very rare, showing the particularity of the sedimentary diagenetic environment in this area, which shows its uniqueness.
Natural heritage is not renewable
The Masangite Fossil Group is a rare and non-renewable natural heritage.
In the early days, local villagers spontaneously raised funds to build a fence and duty room for the site to protect this group of wood fossils.
Cuiping Mountain View Area
Later, after years of efforts, Qijiang National Geopark opened in April 2018, Cuiping Mountain, together with Laoying Mountain and Gujian Mountain, became an important part of the park, and the wood fossil group and dinosaur footprint fossil group, Danxia landform, etc., showed the unique geological culture of Qijiang to tourists from all over the world.
Today, in front of the Masang rock and wood fossil group, many tourists stop and watch, marvel, and be amazed by the miracle that this land has bred.
At present, more than 20 wood fossils have been found here, the longest of which is about 30 meters and the largest is about 1.1 meters in diameter. Looking at the huge "ancient trees", one can't help but imagine the Qijiang River in ancient times: full of sunshine, abundant rain, fertile land, lush tall trees, and hordes of dinosaurs inhabited under the trees. Although these lives no longer exist, we can still glimpse one or two through nature's "notes".
Scientific protection of fossil wood groups
Visitors are viewing the fossilized wood on display at the Qijiang Museum
The Masangyan wood fossil group has a perfect wind and rain shelter on site, and the unearthed wood fossils have been scientifically protected. In the Qijiang Museum, which is less than five kilometers away from Masangyan, various types of wood fossils are displayed, introducing the wood fossils of Qijiang Yongxin, Dongxi, Gunan, Chushui, Guofu and other places and their formation process, telling visitors about the "past and present lives" of wood fossils.
Trees that were originally close to the end of their lives have become hard stones after hundreds of millions of years of geological changes; The fossilized wood sleeping in the ground will one day be able to see the sun again, and under protection, it will tell the story of this land to more people for hundreds of millions of years. Isn't this "dead wood in spring" in another sense?
(Photo/video courtesy of Qijiang Museum)
Joint reporting
Hualong Net—New Chongqing client reporter Jiang Liangui, Li Tianchun, Xu Yunqing
Sichuan News Network reporter He Jiaxin
(Source: Sichuan News Network)