Lignin oxidation product and carbohydrate composition of plant tissues from the south-eastern united states

Abstract

Twenty-one samples of woody and non-woody angiosperm and gymnosperm tissue from plants dominant in south-eastern U.S. coastal ecosystems were analysed for the distribution of CuO oxidation products and neutral monosaccharides derived from acid hydrolysis of the tissues. Phenolic oxidation products gave the same general distributions as reported for plant species in the Pacific north-west, Buzzards Bay, MA, and the western Gulf of Mexico regions of the U.S. However, monosaccharides derived from these plants had generally lower total yields and wider ranges of weight % distributions than the plants from the other regions. Thus, the phenolic oxidation products appear to be a valid indicator of terrestrial carbon source terms across a wide geographical and climatic area; however, neutral monosaccharide distributions must be used with caution when determining source term.