Cherts contain important information of paleogeography, paleostructure and paleo-ocean, which is the important means of studying petrotectonics. With regard to the major disputes on the sedimentary environments, origin and source of Gufeng Formation bedded cherts in the northern margin of middle-lower Yangtze area, demonstrations from both forward and reverse aspects from the perspective of the sedimentary-tectonic evolution were given. By summarizing previous views on the genesis of bedded cherts in Gufeng Formation, and extensively collecting published original geochemical data, in the forward demonstrations we created the database of the cherts about rare earth elements to systematically identify the sedimentary environments, origin and source of cherts. By sorting out the time and cause of the main geological events in the middle Permian in south China, in the reverse demonstrations we established the sequence of tectonic evolution to verify or explain the current series of disputes. The results show that:
Except some areas, such as Guichi-Tangtian, Tongling-Huashupo and Chaohu-Pingdingshan in Anhui province, which were affected by volcanic activities and faults, the bedded cherts of Gufeng Formation in the northern margin of middle-lower Yangtze area are mainly of non-hydrothermal origin or biological origin, and deposited in the passive continental margin deep water environments.
Paleocontinental uplift in cathaysian and sea level eustacy controlled the input of some terrestrial materials in the the Gufeng Formation bedded cherts in the study area, but the contribution of terrestrial materials to cherts is not obvious.
The study of cherts in Gufeng Formation is of great significance to the eruption time and dynamic mechanism of Emeishan basalts.