Lipid biomarkers and stable isotopes uncover paleovegetation changes in extremely species-rich forest-steppe ecosystems, Central Europe.

Autor: Karimi Nezhad MT; Department of Forest Ecology, The Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic. Electronic address: karimi@vukoz.cz., Šamonil P; Department of Forest Ecology, The Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Lesnická 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic., Daněk P; Department of Forest Ecology, The Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic., Jaroš J; Department of Forest Ecology, The Silva Tarouca Research Institute, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic; Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Mendel University in Brno, Lesnická 3, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic., Hájek M; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic., Hájková P; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Paleoecology, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic., Jabinski S; University of Southern Bohemia, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Biology Center Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic., Meador TB; University of Southern Bohemia, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic; Biology Center Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry, Na Sádkách 7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic., Roleček J; Department of Botany and Zoology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic; Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Department of Paleoecology, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental research [Environ Res] 2024 Oct 15; Vol. 259, pp. 119564. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jul 05.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119564
Abstrakt: The historical development of the vegetation of semi-dry grasslands in Central Europe is not satisfactorily understood. Long-term continuity of open vegetation or, conversely, deep-past forest phases are considered possible sources of the current extreme species diversity of these ecosystems. We aimed to reveal the trajectory of paleovegetation development in these ecosystems through detailed analysis of terrestrial in-situ soil geoarchives. We measured the bulk soil carbon and nitrogen contents, lipid molecular distribution, and compound-specific stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic signatures of mid- and long-chain n-alkanes extracted from soil and modern plant material tissues (i.e., deciduous and Pinus leaves and grass/herbaceous species). The C23-C33 n-alkane homologues were identified in soils with different abundances. Normally, C27 and C29 n-alkanes were the most abundant homologues in tree-leaf samples, while grass-derived n-alkanes were mostly C31 and C33 homologues. Soils were largely dominated by C29 and C31 n-alkanes. Odd-numbered C27-C33 soil n-alkane δ 13 C values ranged from -36.2‰ to -23.2‰, whereas their δ 2 H values showed a wider range of variability that fluctuated from -224‰ to -172‰. Molecular distribution in combination with radiocarbon analysis of soil organic matter (SOM) and δ 13 C and δ 2 H values of n-alkanes revealed a large contribution of C3 trees (both deciduous and coniferous trees/pine trees) as the main source of n-alkanes between the late Pleistocene and early Holocene (ca 15,000-8200 calibrated year before present/cal year BP). A clear shift toward more grassy/herbaceous vegetation was observed from the early Holocene (ca 11,700-8200 cal year BP) onwards. Distribution patterns of lipids and soil geochemical parameters showed that plants are the main source of SOM and that biodegradation and kinetic isotope fractionation are not the main reasons for 13 C enrichment in soil profiles. Past C3 vegetation shifts as well as paleoclimate changes (i.e., aridity) can have played a role in the observed 13 C depth profiles.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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