CARBON ISOTOPE PROXIES OF ECOSYTEM AND STRATIGRAPHY OF PERMIAN OF SOUTH CHINA

South China displays some of the best marine carbonate successions of Permian in the world, which are well documented on biostratigraphy and paleobiology. The sections at Tieqiao and Lianhuaao in Guangxi Province, South China are typical of them and represent depocenters in this area. The d¹³C excursions reach a distinct depletion of –1‰ near the conodont zone of Clarkina posbitteri and spans the boundary of Guadalupian-Lopingian displayed in the Penglaitan section, the candidate GSSP section of Guadalupian-Lopingian boundary, and Hongshuihe section in Tieqiao area. Another d¹³C negative excursion, –2‰, occurs near Hindeodus parvus Zone across the boundary of Permian-Triassic and coincides with the worldwide depletion near the boundary. Several enrichment peaks of d¹³C are represent by excursions as high as 4-5‰ near the conodont zones of Pseudosweetognathus whitei, Sweetognathus subasymmertricus, Clarkina guangyuanesis and fusulinids zone of Pseudoswagerina sp. The d¹³C depletion appears to be associated with mass extinction bioevents in the Permian represented pre-Lopingian and End Permian, and peaks may reflect change of carbon cycle such as higher productivity, extensive coal deposition, extensive reef development and/or eustatic change. These depletions and peaks of d¹³C are coincident with most important index fossils which are proxies of paleoenvironmental change and bioevolution. It is possible that the carbon cycle connected with sea level changes could provide useful higher resolution proxies for stratigraphy and paleobiology evolution.