Flozidentifizierung Und Sporologie (IM Oberkarbon)

Abstract

A great deal of sporological stratigraphy has to do with statistics. But there also are some possibilities to work without statistics. This is, e.g., the study of regional extraaccumulations of spores occurring in coals and elsewhere as a result of over-production of spores in certain years accompanied by favourable meteorological constellations.

On the other hand, we may observe better than till now, the change of spore content with the change of facies occurring even without stratigraphical change. This seems to be good for nothing. It perhaps only makes the problem more difficult. But in fact, it gives more possibilities for different purposes, e.g., the distance from shore in marine sediments is sometimes better seen with spores than with others petrographical studies. In every case if we use statistics as far as possible, we must compare associations of similar facies only. Often that is very difficult and of course makes invalid the best mathematical calculations of statistics. You know we have today papers trying to introduce even higher mathematics in sporology. To have success by this way it would first be necessary to understand what is a spore species and a spore genus. If people would learn, that these taxa are not classical one but form-organ-taxa, stratigraphy would have a great success. A definition of the form-organ species so useful for stratigraphy follows here:

"A form-organ-species contains organs of equal category being of the same shape. They are put together in the same species in spite of the fact 0that these equal organs may have belonged to plants which in other organs differed from one another ".  

An author, who does not understand this definition makes too many new species and genera which injure the stratigraphical methods. Further we must know that chiefly the spore species are suitable for stratigraphical purposes while the spore genera help to embrace the greater construction plans. The progress of spore stratigraphy will be insufficient as long as we are not accepting, that many spore genera have representatives from the palaeozoics (or only mesozoics) till to day, and that even sometimes it may be so with certain spore species (pollen grains are spores s.l.).