The Influence of Source Biases on Sedimentary Leaf Waxes and Their Stable Isotope Compositions

Abstract:

Leaf waxes and their carbon (δ¹³C) and hydrogen (δD) isotopic compositions are an important tool to understand past changes in paleoclimate and paleovegetation. Important recent advances in our understanding about the isotopic signal preserved in sedimentary leaf waxes have been inferred from studies made on individual modern plants. However, paleoreconstructions are based on sedimentary leaf waxes, which reflect mixing between multiple sources, such as ablated leaf waxes from nearby or from afar, wind blown leaf litter, and riverine transported leaf waxes. Each of these sources integrates leaf waxes from different species and growth forms, likely resulting in source-specific taphonomic biases on sedimentary leaf wax isotopes.

To better understand source biases in sedimentary leaf waxes, we investigated n-alkanes and n-alkanoic acids and their carbon and hydrogen isotopes in vegetation and lake sediments at Brown’s Lake and Bog, a ‘simple’ forested closed-basin lake in northeastern Ohio. Interestingly, we found that tree n-alkane δD varied substantially during the growing season, broadly tracking changes in source water composition. However, δD values of n-alkanes in the tree leaf litter did not match that of the most recent sedimentary n-alkanes. Instead, surface sediment n-alkane δD more closely matched that of the woody shrubs and grasses growing right around the lake. n-Alkanoic acid data is forthcoming. We are currently exploring lake sediment n-alkane accumulation rates against midwestern flux rates of wind blown leaf waxes from afar. Our preliminary results suggest that although studies made on individual leaves are indeed important, we may need to consider additional leaf wax sources that potentially influence sedimentary archives.