# Implications for Paleontological Heritage Conservation:
## 3 Results
### Some Potential Factors of the Distribution of Fossil Sites
#### 3.2.3 Stratigraphy  
Lithology and chronost stratigraphic units are essential stratigraphy contents which must be considered in this study. Lithology is one of the internal factors influencing topography and geomorphology, and it plays a vital role in exposing fossil sites. The lithologic data of Shandong Province are extracted from the SOTER for China, which was compiled within the framework of the FAO's program of Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands [27]. This study overlaps the location of fossil sites and lithologic data (Figure 7) to reflect the spatial relationship between the fossil sites and the lithology. From Figure 7 and Table 6, 89 fossil sites in Shandong Province are in sedimentary rocks, such as sandstone, greywacke, arkose, limestone, and other carbonate rocks, accounting for 66.92% of the total; 32 fossil sites are covered by unconsolidated sediments, accounting for 24.06% of all fossil sites: they are from deeper sedimentary strata exposed by human activity compared with the fieldwork and published materials [19; 20]. In addition, there are 12 fossil sites located in the strata dominated by igneous and metamorphic rocks, accounting for 9.02% of all fossil sites; however, fieldwork has shown that these are generally located in sedimentary rock (Table S1). The presence of fossil sites within metamorphic rocks or unconsolidated sediments can be attributed to the fact that many were not initially exposed at the surface; instead, they were uncovered when humans removed the overlying strata, resulting in a discrepancy between the lithologies observed on the surface and those associated with the fossil sites beneath. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Buffer Zones of Fault Systems** & **Number of Fossil Sites** & **Percentage/\%** \\ \hline
1 km & 23 & 17.29 \\
3 km & 60 & 45.11 \\
5 km & 91 & 68.42 \\
10 km & 119 & 89.47 \\
20 km & 130 & 97.74 \\
80 km & 133 & 100.00 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Spatial relationship statistics of fossil sites and fault systems in Shandong Province. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Class of Lithologies** & **Lithologies \({}^{*}\)** & **Number of Fossil Sites** & **Percentage/\%** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Igeneous rock} & Granite & 3 & 2.26 \\  & Basalt & 1 & 0.75 \\  & Diorite–syenite & 2 & 1.50 \\  & Ignimbrite & 1 & 0.75 \\ \hline \multirow{2}{*}{Metamorphic rock} & Gneiss, mgmatite & 2 & 1.50 \\  & Schist & 3 & 2.26 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Sedimentary rock} & Conglomerate, breccia & 1 & 0.75 \\  & Sandstone, greywacke, arkose & 25 & 18.80 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Siltstone, mudstone, claystone & 6 & 4.51 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Shale & 3 & 2.26 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Limestone, other carbonate rocks & 54 & 40.60 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Sediment (unconsolidated)} & Loess (aeolian) & 9 & 6.77 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Fluvial & 18 & 13.53 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Lacustrine & 4 & 3.01 \\ \cline{1-1}  & Bauxite, laterite & 1 & 0.75 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* See Supplementary Materials Table S1 for detailed lithologies of fossil sites in Shandong Province.  
\end{table} 
Table 6: Spatial relationship statistics of fossil sites and lithologies in Shandong Province. Figure 7: Association map of fossil sites and lithology in Shandong Province. FP, fluvial plain; IA1, granite; IB2, basalt; IB3, doerite; II2, diorite–syenite; IP4, ignimbrite; MA1/SC2, quartzite/(sandstone, greywacke, arkose); MA2, gneiss, migmatite; MA3/MB1, slate, phyllite; MA4/MB2, schist; SC1, conglomerate, breccia; SC2, sandstone, greywacke, arkose; SC3, siltstone, mudstone, claystone; SC4, shale; SO1, limestone, other carbonate rocks; UE1, unconsolidated loess (aeolian); UE2, unconsolidated sands (aeolian); UF, fluvial (unconsolidated); UF/UL, fluvial (unconsolidated)/lacustrine (unconsolidated); UF1, sand and gravel (fluvial); UL, lacustrine (unconsolidated); UM, marine (unconsolidated); UR, weathered residuum; UR1, bauxite, laterite; WR, lakes, permanent water.