Leaf wax n-alkanes in modern plants and topsoils from eastern Georgia (Caucasus) - implications for reconstructing regional paleovegetation

摘要

Long-chain n-alkanes originate from leaf waxes of higher terrestrial plants, they are relatively resistant against physical and chemical degradation and are preserved in sediment archives for at least millennial timescales. Since their homologue patterns discriminate between vegetation forms, they were increasingly used for paleovegetation reconstructions during the last years. However, before any robust interpretation of the long-chain n-alkane patterns in sediment archives, reference samples from modern vegetation and topsoil material should be investigated at a regional scale. Apart from some temperate and tropical regions, such systematic regional studies on modern plant and topsoil material are still largely lacking.