The Devonian Investigation Group (DIG) has a broad focus, and is interested in early plant taxonomy and phylogeny, Devonian integrative stratigraphy, marine palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography reconstruction and biogeochemical cycling. The group now has fifteen members, including two full professor (XU Honghe, WANG Yi), three associate professors (QIE Wenkun, FU Qiang and QIAO Li), six assistant professors (LIANG Kun, LU Jianfeng, SONG Junjung, GUO Wen, HUANG Pu and ZHANG Xiaole) and four graduate students (WANG Yao, MA Jiaxin, HUANG Jiayuan and WANG Yujue). Encompassing all kinds of fossil groups from both terrestrial and marine strata of Devonian, the field of DIG is currently focused on the evolution of early land ecosystem and its impacts on Earth climate system and marine ecosystem, which could be separated into the following 8 key research themes:   

1) Silurian-Devonian plant evolution 

2) Subdivision of Chinese regional Devonian stages 

3) Devonian marine anoxia and biotic events 

4) Devonian reef ecosystem  

5) Palaeoecology reconstruction around the F-F and Hangenberg events 

6) Brachiopod palaeobiogeography reconstruction 

7) C-N-S biogeochemical cycling 

8) Climate changes in the Mid-Palaeozoic   

The Group has key alliances with the Subcommission on Devonian Stratigraphy, Subcommission on Carboniferous Stratigraphy of ICS, and is keen to work with young international scholars and accepted graduate students.  

Recent projects of the group are mainly founded by Chinese Academy of Sciences, NSFC and the Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS.   

Projects in progress: 

The State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS: Interactions between Late Devonian marine and terrestrial organisms and their palaeoenvironments of South China. PI: XU Honghe 

The Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of Chinese Academy of Sciences: The establishment and the development of the earliest terrestrial ecosystem. PI: XU Honghe 

The National Natural Science Foundation of China: The anatomy and the growth pattern of the Upper Devonian tree-like plants from Xinjiang. PI: XU Honghe 

The Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of Chinese Academy of Sciences: Devonian marine biotic and anoxic events and climate changes. PI: QIE Wenkun 

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.: 41772004): Mass extinction and paleoenvironmental backgrounds during the Devonian-Carboniferous transition in South China. PI: QIE Wenkun 

The National Natural Science Foundation of China: Early Devonian conodont from Guangxi and southeastern Yunnan: systematic Palaeontology and biostratigraphy. PI: LU Jianfeng 

The National Natural Science Foundation of China: The differences and causes in the responding patterns to the F-F event between marine benthic and pelagic ostracods in the Late Devonian of South China. PI: SONG Junjun 

The National Natural Science Foundation of China: Studies of the phylogeny and leaf morphological evolution of Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous sphenophytes from South China. PI: HUANG Pu