Shorter average chain length of n-alkanes from flowers than leaves of modern plants: Implications for the use of n-alkane-derived proxies in soils

Abstract

(Andersson et al., 2011; Bush and McInerney, 2015). The interpretation of n-alkane parameters in paleoenvironmental studies has been based primarily on the n-alkane distribution of leaves in modern plants. Besides plant leaves, however, most other plant organs, e.g., flowers and roots, can also produce a large amount of nalkanes. For example, Gamarra and Kahmen (2015) suggested that flowers might contribute an average of 7% nalkanes to grassland soils. In this study, we collected flower and leaf samples from different plant species to compare the distribution and abundance of n-alkane between flowers and leaves. The results would contribute to the limited data set of n-alkanes in modern plants and aid in the interpretation of n-alkane-derived proxies in sediments.