On the other hand, most plants do not have to die to contribute one or more of their parts to the potential fossil record. When autumn leaves fall in temperate climates, the trees don't die. Their present leaves are not the same ones that grew 5300 years ago. This is the Biostratinomy stage. Ultimately the organic matter is buried.
Burial plays an important role in potential preservation of the organic matter.
Very specific chemical and physical conditions must exist in the burial environment to allow preservation in a form recognizable to us. Once buried, the organic material is subjected to the third taphonomic phase, or Diagenesis . Diagenesis involves all of the processes responsible for lithification of the sediment and chemical interactions with waters residing between clasts. The processes of fossilization appear to be site specific with respect to depositional settings, resulting in a mosaic of preservational traits in the terrestrial and marine realm. Few fossil assemblages are exactly identical, especially with regard to the way in which they were formed, but general patterns do exist.