Isotopic variance among plant lipid homologues correlates with biodiversity patterns of their source communities.

ABSTRACT: Plant diversity is important to human welfare worldwide, and this importance is exemplified in subtropical and tropical [(sub)tropical] African savannahs where regional biodiversity enhances the sustaining provision of basic ecosystem services available to millions of residents. Yet, there is a critical lack of knowledge about how savannahs respond to climate change. Here, we report the relationships between savannah vegetation structure, species richness, and bioclimatic variables as recorded by plant biochemical fossils, called biomarkers. Our analyses reveal that the stable carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of discrete sedimentary plant biomarkers reflects vegetation structure, but the isotopic range among plant biomarkers-which we call LEaf Wax Isotopic Spread (LEWIS)-reflects species

SUBMITTER: Magill CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6392421 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature