Simulation experiments on the variation of leaf n-alkanes in aquatic environments

Abstract

The leaves of six plant species and the corresponding leaf residues collected in water from the two-year simulation experiments were analyzed in nalkane distributions by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mas spectrometry (GC/MS). The leaf nalkanes keep unchanged in the dominant homologues when soaked in tap water for two years. The most significant change was observed in carbon preference index (CPI), with enhanced values being found in leaf residues collected from water. This is contradictory with the previous reports showing the lower CPI values during sinking and burial processes in natural aquatic environments. The elevated CPI values from leaf residues might be related to the low amount of microorganisms in the water used in the simulation experiment, and the enhanced solubility of even-carbon-numbered n-alkanes via van der Waals attraction. In contrast with herbaceous plants, the woody plants appear to show relatively great variations in both the CPI and the average chain length (ACL) values of n-alkanes after submerged in water for two years. Our data clearly show the differentiated decomposition between woody and herbaceous leaves, with the woody leaves suffered from much stronger decomposition. This observation suggests that in comparison with the grassland, the forest vegetation might result in relatively low authentic signals to be preserved in the n-alkane distributions in aquatic sediments.