Long chain n-alkanes and their carbon isotopes in lichen species from western Hubei Province: implication for geological records

Abstract

Five coticolous lichen samples were collected from western Hubei Province of China to analyze the long chain n-alkanes and their carbon isotope compositions. The n-alkanes range in carbon number from C₁₇ to C₃₃ with strong odd-over-even predominance between C₂₁ and C₃₃. Lichens are dominated by n-C₂₉ in the samples of Dajiuhu, Shennongjia Mountain, but by both n-C₂₃ and n-C₂₉ at Qizimei Mountain. This difference may result from the different environmental conditions in these two sites. The δ¹³C values of long chain n-alkanes in lichen samples show the signature of C3 plants. Based on compound-specific carbon isotopic values and previous results, we state that alkane homologs>C₂₃ mainly originate from the symbiotic fungi, while symbiotic algae only contribute trace amount of long chain alkanes. Of great interesting is the occurrence of long chain 3-methylalkanes in the Qizimei samples. These anteiso compounds range from C₂₄ to C₃₂, displaying obvious even-over-odd predominance. This study reveals that the association of long chain 3-methylalkanes with n-C₂₃ alkane might be used as proxies to reconstruct the paleoecological implications of lichens in Earth history.

Keywords

lichen / alkane / 3-methylalkanes / n-C₂₃ alkane / compound specific carbon isotope

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40930210 and 41102215). Dr. Yangmin Qin provided help in the field. Mr. Weichao Wu helped for sample extraction and analysis. The authors thank the Dajiuhu National Wetland Park and the Forestry Bureau of Xuan’en County for their help during the field trip. The two anonymous reviewers are thanlsed for their help to improve this contribution.

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