Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax <i>n</i>-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain <i>n</i>-alkanes

Shengyi Mao; Guodong Jia; Xiaowei Zhu; Nengyou Wu; Daidai Wu; Hongxiang Guan; Lihua Liu

doi:10.1007/s13131-021-1917-9

Volume 41 Issue 8

Aug. 2022

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2022 > 41(8): 22-30

Shengyi Mao, Guodong Jia, Xiaowei Zhu, Nengyou Wu, Daidai Wu, Hongxiang Guan, Lihua Liu. Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2022, 41(8): 22-30. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1917-9

Citation:

Shengyi Mao, Guodong Jia, Xiaowei Zhu, Nengyou Wu, Daidai Wu, Hongxiang Guan, Lihua Liu. Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2022, 41(8): 22-30. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1917-9

Citation:

Shengyi Mao, Guodong Jia, Xiaowei Zhu, Nengyou Wu, Daidai Wu, Hongxiang Guan, Lihua Liu. Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2022, 41(8): 22-30. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1917-9

PDF( 1134 KB)

Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes

doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1917-9

Shengyi Mao^{1, 2},
Guodong Jia³,
Xiaowei Zhu^{2, 4},
Nengyou Wu^{5, 6},
Daidai Wu¹,
Hongxiang Guan¹,
Lihua Liu^{1
,
,}

1.
CAS Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
2.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
3.
State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
4.
Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
5.
Key Laboratory of Gas Hydrate of Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266237, China
6.
Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China

Funds: The Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) under contract No. GML2019ZD0104; the Science and Technology Program of Guangzhou, China under contract No. 201804010264; the Guangdong MEPP Fund under contract No. GDOE[2019]A41; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41706059; the Fund of Institution of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract No. ISEE2020YB05; the State Key R&D Project under contract No. 2016YFA0601104.

More Information

Corresponding author: liulh@ms.giec.ac.cn
Received Date: 2021-01-14
Accepted Date: 2021-07-03

Available Online: 2022-07-27

Publish Date: 2022-08-15

Abstract

Abstract

Long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes in core sediments from the northern South China Sea (SCS) were measured to make a comparison during terrestrial vegetation reconstruction from ~42 ka to ~7 ka. The results showed that terrestrial vegetation record from long-chain n-alkanes matched well with previous studies in nearby cores, showing that more C₄ plants developed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and C₃ plants dominated in the interglacial period. However, these scenarios were not revealed by terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanols, which showed C₃ plant expansion during the LGM. The discrepancy during the interglacial period could be attributed to the aerobic degradation of functionalized long-chain n-alkanols in the oxygen-rich bottom water, resulting in poor preservation of terrestrial vegetation signals. On the other hand, the different advantages of functionalized n-alkanols and non-functional n-alkanes to record local and distal vegetation signals, respectively, may offer a potential explanation for the contradiction during the LGM when the SCS was characterized by low-oxygen deep water. Nevertheless, large variations on n-alkyl lipid compositions in C₃/C₄ plants could play a part in modulating sedimentary long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes toward different vegetation signals, thereby suggesting that caution must be taken in respect to the terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-alkanols.
- South China Sea,
- long-chain n-alkanols,
- long-chain n-alkanes,
- Last Glacial Maximum,
- terrestrial vegetation record

FullText(HTML)

References(69)

References

[1]	Badewien T, Vogts A, Rullkötter J. 2015. n-Alkane distribution and carbon stable isotope composition in leaf waxes of C₃ and C₄ plants from Angola. Organic Geochemistry, 89–90: 71–79
[2]	Bezabih M, Pellikaan W F, Tolera A, et al. 2011. Evaluation of n-alkanes and their carbon isotope enrichments (δ¹³C) as diet composition markers. Animal, 5: 57–66. doi: 10.1017/S1751731110001515
[3]	Bray E E, Evans E D. 1961. Distribution of n-paraffins as a clue to recognition of source beds. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 22(1): 2–15. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(61)90069-2
[4]	Bush R T, McInerney F A. 2015. Influence of temperature and C₄ abundance on n-alkane chain length distributions across the central USA. Organic Geochemistry, 79: 65–73. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2014.12.003
[5]	Chang Lin, Luo Yunli, Sun Xiangjun. 2013. Paleoenvironmental change base on a pollen record from deep sea core MD05–2904 from the northern South China Sea during the past 20000 years. Chinese Science Bulletin, 58(30): 3079–3087. doi: 10.1360/972012-786
[6]	Cheesbrough T M, Kolattukudy P E. 1984. Alkane biosynthesis by decarbonylation of aldehydes catalyzed by a particulate preparation from Pisum sativum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 81(21): 6613–6617. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.21.6613
[7]	Chikaraishi Y, Naraoka H. 2007. δ¹³C and δD relationships among three n-alkyl compound classes (n-alkanoic acid, n-alkane and n-alkanol) of terrestrial higher plants. Organic Geochemistry, 38(2): 198–215. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2006.10.003
[8]	Chikaraishi Y, Naraoka H, Poulson S R. 2004. Carbon and hydrogen isotopic fractionation during lipid biosynthesis in a higher plant (Cryptomeria japonica). Phytochemistry, 65(3): 323–330. doi: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2003.12.003
[9]	China Vegetation Editorial Committee. 1980. Vegetation of China. Beijing: Science Press, 1–1375
[10]	Conte M H, Weber J C, Carlson P J, et al. 2003. Molecular and carbon isotopic composition of leaf wax in vegetation and aerosols in a northern prairie ecosystem. Oecologia, 135(1): 67–77. doi: 10.1007/s00442-002-1157-4
[11]	Cranwell P A. 1981. Diagenesis of free and bound lipids in terrestrial detritus deposited in a lacustrine sediment. Organic Geochemistry, 3(3): 79–89. doi: 10.1016/0146-6380(81)90002-4
[12]	Dai Lu, Hao Qinghe, Mao Limi. 2018. Morphological diversity of Quercus fossil pollen in the northern South China Sea during the last glacial maximum and its paleoclimatic implication. PLoS ONE, 13(10): e0205246. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205246
[13]	Dai Lu, Weng Chengyu. 2015. Marine palynological record for tropical climate variations since the late last glacial maximum in the northern South China Sea. Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography, 122: 153–162. doi: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2015.06.011
[14]	Dai Lu, Weng Chengyu, Lu Jun, et al. 2014. Pollen quantitative distribution in marine and fluvial surface sediments from the northern South China Sea: new insights into pollen transportation and deposition mechanisms. Quaternary International, 325: 136–149. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2013.09.031
[15]	Dai Lu, Weng Chengyu, Mao Limi. 2015. Patterns of vegetation and climate change in the northern South China Sea during the last glaciation inferred from marine palynological records. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 440: 249–258
[16]	Damsté J S S, Rijpstra W I C, Reichart G J. 2002. The influence of oxic degradation on the sedimentary biomarker record II. Evidence from Arabian Sea sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(15): 2737–2754. doi: 10.1016/S0016-7037(02)00865-7
[17]	Diefendorf A F, Freeman K H, Wing S L, et al. 2011. Production of n-alkyl lipids in living plants and implications for the geologic past. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75(23): 7472–7485. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.09.028
[18]	Diefendorf A F, Freimuth E J. 2017. Extracting the most from terrestrial plant-derived n-alkyl lipids and their carbon isotopes from the sedimentary record: a review. Organic Geochemistry, 103: 1–21. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2016.10.016
[19]	Diefendorf A F, Leslie A B, Wing S L. 2015. Leaf wax composition and carbon isotopes vary among major conifer groups. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 170: 145–156. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2015.08.018
[20]	Eglinton G, Hamilton R J. 1967. Leaf epicuticular waxes: the waxy outer surfaces of most plants display a wide diversity of fine structure and chemical constituents. Science, 156(3780): 1322–1335. doi: 10.1126/science.156.3780.1322
[21]	Galy V, Eglinton T, France-Lanord C, et al. 2011. The provenance of vegetation and environmental signatures encoded in vascular plant biomarkers carried by the Ganges-Brahmaputra Rivers. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 304(1–2): 1–12. doi: 10.1016/j.jpgl.2011.02.003
[22]	Garcin Y, Schefuß E, Schwab V F, et al. 2014. Reconstructing C₃ and C₄ vegetation cover using n-alkane carbon isotope ratios in recent lake sediments from Cameroon, Western Central Africa. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 142: 482–500. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2014.07.004
[23]	Guo Wei. 2015. Source and biogeochemical properties of oragnic carbon in water column and sediments of Pearl River Estuary (in Chinese)[dissertation]. Beijing: University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1–146
[24]	Guo Wei, Jia Guodong, Ye Feng, et al. 2019. Lipid biomarkers in suspended particulate matter and surface sediments in the Pearl River Estuary, a subtropical estuary in southern China. Science of the Total Environment, 646: 416–426. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.159
[25]	Guo Wei, Ye Feng, Xu Shendong, et al. 2015. Seasonal variation in sources and processing of particulate organic carbon in the Pearl River Estuary, South China. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 167: 540–548
[26]	Hartnett H E, Keil R G, Hedges J I, et al. 1998. Influence of oxygen exposure time on organic carbon preservation in continental margin sediments. Nature, 391(6667): 572–575. doi: 10.1038/35351
[27]	He Juan, Jia Guodong, Li Li, et al. 2017. Differential timing of C₄ plant decline and grassland retreat during the penultimate deglaciation. Global and Planetary Change, 156: 26–33. doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2017.08.001
[28]	He Juan, Zhao Meixun, Li Li, et al. 2008. Sea surface temperature and terrestrial biomarker records of the last 260 ka of core MD05–2904 from the northern South China Sea. Chinese Science Bulletin, 53(15): 2376–2384
[29]	Hemingway J D, Schefuß E, Dinga B J, et al. 2016. Multiple plant-wax compounds record differential sources and ecosystem structure in large river catchments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 184: 20–40. doi: 10.1016/j.gca.2016.04.003
[30]	Hoefs M J L, Rijpstra W I C, Damsté J S S. 2002. The influence of oxic degradation on the sedimentary biomarker record I: evidence from Madeira Abyssal Plain turbidites. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 66(15): 2719–2735. doi: 10.1016/S0016-7037(02)00864-5
[31]	Hu Jianfang, Peng Ping’an, Chivas A R. 2009. Molecular biomarker evidence of origins and transport of organic matter in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent South China Sea. Applied Geochemistry, 24(9): 1666–1676. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2009.04.035
[32]	Hu Jianfang, Peng Ping’an, Fang Dianyong, et al. 2003. No aridity in Sunda Land during the Last Glaciation: evidence from molecular-isotopic stratigraphy of long-chain n-alkanes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 201(3–4): 269–281
[33]	Huang Enqing, Tian Jun. 2012. Sea-level rises at Heinrich stadials of early Marine Isotope Stage 3: evidence of terrigenous n-alkane input in the southern South China Sea. Global and Planetary Change, 94–95: 1–12
[34]	Lambeck K, Rouby H, Purcell A, et al. 2014. Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(43): 15296–15303. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1411762111
[35]	Li Li, Li Qianyu, Li Jianru, et al. 2015. A hydroclimate regime shift around 270 ka in the western tropical Pacific inferred from a late Quaternary n-alkane chain-length record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 427: 79–88
[36]	Li Li, Li Qianyu, Tian Jun, et al. 2013. Low latitude hydro-climatic changes during the Plio-Pleistocene: evidence from high resolution alkane records in the southern South China Sea. Quaternary Science Reviews, 78: 209–224. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.08.007
[37]	Li Gang, Rashid H, Zhong Lifeng, et al. 2018. Changes in deep water oxygenation of the South China Sea since the last glacial period. Geophysical Research Letters, 45(17): 9058–9066. doi: 10.1029/2018GL078568
[38]	Lin Dacheng, Chen Minte, Yamamoto M, et al. 2017. Hydrographic variability in the northern South China Sea over the past 45, 000 years: new insights based on temperature reconstructions by $ {\mathrm{U}}_{37}^{{\mathrm{K}}^{\mathrm{\text{'}}}} $ and $ {\mathrm{T}\mathrm{E}\mathrm{X}}_{86}^{\mathrm{H}} $ proxies from a marine sediment core (MD972146). Quaternary International, 459: 1–16. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2017.09.029
[39]	Liu Fang, Chang Xiaohong, Liao Zewen, et al. 2019. n-Alkanes as indicators of climate and vegetation variations since the last glacial period recorded in a sediment core from the northeastern South China Sea (SCS). Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 171: 134–143. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.09.018
[40]	Meyers P A, Eadie B J. 1993. Sources, degradation and recycling of organic matter associated with sinking particles in Lake Michigan. Organic Geochemistry, 20(1): 47–56. doi: 10.1016/0146-6380(93)90080-U
[41]	Meyers P A, Ishiwatari R. 1993. Lacustrine organic geochemistry—an overview of indicators of organic matter sources and diagenesis in lake sediments. Organic Geochemistry, 20(7): 867–900. doi: 10.1016/0146-6380(93)90100-P
[42]	Mortazavi B, Conte M H, Chanton J P, et al. 2012. Variability in the carbon isotopic composition of foliage carbon pools (soluble carbohydrates, waxes) and respiration fluxes in southeastern U. S. pine forests. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 117(G2): G02009
[43]	Müller P J, Suess E. 1979. Productivity, sedimentation rate, and sedimentary organic matter in the oceans—I. Organic carbon preservation. Deep-Sea Research Part A: Oceanographic Research Papers, 26(12): 1347–1362
[44]	Pelejero C. 2003. Terrigenous n-alkane input in the South China Sea: high-resolution records and surface sediments. Chemical Geology, 200(1−2): 89–103. doi: 10.1016/S0009-2541(03)00164-5
[45]	Ponton C, West A J, Feakins S J, et al. 2014. Leaf wax biomarkers in transit record river catchment composition. Geophysical Research Letters, 41(18): 6420–6427. doi: 10.1002/2014GL061328
[46]	Post-Beittenmiller D. 1996. Biochemistry and molecular biology of wax production in plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, 47: 405–430. doi: 10.1146/annurev.arplant.47.1.405
[47]	Rommerskirchen F, Plader A, Eglinton G, et al. 2006. Chemotaxonomic significance of distribution and stable carbon isotopic composition of long-chain alkanes and alkan-1-ols in C₄ grass waxes. Organic Geochemistry, 37(10): 1303–1332. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2005.12.013
[48]	Shintani T, Yamamoto M, Chen Minte. 2011. Paleoenvironmental changes in the northern South China Sea over the past 28, 000 years: a study of TEX₈₆-derived sea surface temperatures and terrestrial biomarkers. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 40(6): 1221–1229. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2010.09.013
[49]	Strong D J, Flecker R, Valdes P J, et al. 2012. Organic matter distribution in the modern sediments of the Pearl River Estuary. Organic Geochemistry, 49: 68–82. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2012.04.011
[50]	Strong D, Flecker R, Valdes P J, et al. 2013. A new regional, mid-Holocene palaeoprecipitation signal of the Asian Summer Monsoon. Quaternary Science Reviews, 78: 65–76. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.07.034
[51]	Sun Xiangjun, Li Xun. 1999. A pollen record of the last 37 ka in deep sea core 17940 from the northern slope of the South China Sea. Marine Geology, 156(1–4): 227–244. doi: 10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00181-9
[52]	Sun Xiangjun, Li Xu, Luo Yunli, et al. 2000. The vegetation and climate at the last glaciation on the emerged continental shelf of the South China Sea. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 160(3–4): 301–316
[53]	Sun Xiangjun, Luo Yunli, Huang Fei, et al. 2003. Deep-sea pollen from the South China Sea: pleistocene indicators of East Asian monsoon. Marine Geology, 201(1–3): 97–118. doi: 10.1016/S0025-3227(03)00211-1
[54]	Sun Mingyi, Wakeham S G. 1994. Molecular evidence for degradation and preservation of organic matter in the anoxic Black Sea Basin. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 58(16): 3395–3406. doi: 10.1016/0016-7037(94)90094-9
[55]	Sun Mingyi, Wakeham S G, Lee C. 1997. Rates and mechanisms of fatty acid degradation in oxic and anoxic coastal marine sediments of Long Island Sound, New York, USA. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 61(2): 341–355. doi: 10.1016/S0016-7037(96)00315-8
[56]	van Dongen B E, Zencak Z, Gustafsson Ö. 2008. Differential transport and degradation of bulk organic carbon and specific terrestrial biomarkers in the surface waters of a sub-Arctic brackish bay mixing zone. Marine Chemistry, 112(3–4): 203–214. doi: 10.1016/j.marchem.2008.08.002
[57]	Vogts A, Moossen H, Rommerskirchen F, et al. 2009. Distribution patterns and stable carbon isotopic composition of alkanes and alkan-1-ols from plant waxes of African rain forest and savanna C₃ species. Organic Geochemistry, 40(10): 1037–1054. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2009.07.011
[58]	Wakeham S G. 1989. Reduction of stenols to stanols in particulate matter at oxic–anoxic boundaries in sea water. Nature, 342(6251): 787–790. doi: 10.1038/342787a0
[59]	Wakeham S G, Amann R, Freeman K H, et al. 2007. Microbial ecology of the stratified water column of the Black Sea as revealed by a comprehensive biomarker study. Organic Geochemistry, 38(12): 2070–2097. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2007.08.003
[60]	Wang Jia, Xu Yunping, Zhou Liping, et al. 2018a. Disentangling temperature effects on leaf wax n-alkane traits and carbon isotopic composition from phylogeny and precipitation. Organic Geochemistry, 126: 13–22. doi: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.10.008
[61]	Wang Mengyuan, Zheng Zhuo, Gao Quanzhou, et al. 2018b. The environmental conditions of MIS5 in the northern South China Sea, revealed by n-alkanes indices and alkenones from a 39 m-long sediment sequence. Quaternary International, 479: 70–78. doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2017.08.026
[62]	Xu Shendong, Zhang Jie, Wang Xianxu, et al. 2016. Catchment environmental change over the 20th Century recorded by sedimentary leaf wax n-alkane δ¹³C off the Pearl River Estuary. Science China: Earth Sciences, 59(5): 975–980. doi: 10.1007/s11430-015-5206-3
[63]	Yu Shaohua, Zheng Zhuo, Chen Fang, et al. 2017. A last glacial and deglacial pollen record from the northern South China Sea: new insight into coastal-shelf paleoenvironment. Quaternary Science Reviews, 157: 114–128. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.12.012
[64]	Zheng Zhuo, Li Qianyu. 2000. Vegetation, climate, and sea level in the past 55, 000 years, Hanjiang Delta, southeastern China. Quaternary Research, 5(3): 330–340
[65]	Zhou Bin, Zheng Hongbo, Yang Wenguang, et al. 2012. Climate and vegetation variations since the LGM recorded by biomarkers from a sediment core in the northern South China Sea. Journal of Quaternary Science, 27(9): 948–955. doi: 10.1002/jqs.2588
[66]	Zhu Xiaowei, Mao Shengyi, Sun Yongge, et al. 2018. Organic molecular evidence of seafloor hydrocarbon seepage in sedimentary intervals down a core in the northern South China Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 168: 155–162. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2018.11.009
[67]	Zhu Xiaowei, Mao Shengyi, Sun Yongge, et al. 2019. Long chain diol index (LDI) as a potential measure to estimate annual mean sea surface temperature in the northern South China Sea. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 221: 1–7
[68]	Zhu Xiaowei, Mao Shengyi, Wu Nengyou, et al. 2014. Molecular and stable carbon isotopic compositions of saturated fatty acids within one sedimentary profile in the Shenhu, northern South China Sea: source implications. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 92: 262–275. doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.12.011
[69]	Zhu Xiaowei, Mao Shengyi, Wu Nengyou, et al. 2016. Detection and indication of 1, 3, 4-C_27–29 triol in the sediment of northern South China Sea. Science China: Earth Sciences, 59(6): 1187–1194. doi: 10.1007/s11430-016-5270-3