Articles | Volume 68, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-189-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-68-189-2019
Research article
 | 
04 Sep 2019
Research article |  | 04 Sep 2019

Chemotaxonomic patterns of vegetation and soils along altitudinal transects of the Bale Mountains, Ethiopia, and implications for paleovegetation reconstructions – Part II: lignin-derived phenols and leaf-wax-derived n-alkanes

Bruk Lemma, Betelhem Mekonnen, Bruno Glaser, Wolfgang Zech, Sileshi Nemomissa, Tamrat Bekele, Lucas Bittner, and Michael Zech

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Cited articles

Amelung, W., Zech, W., and Flach, K. W.: Climatic effects on soil organic matter composition in the Great Plains, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 61, 115–123, 1997. 
Amelung, W., Martius, C., Bandeira, A. G., Garcia, M. V., and Zech, W.: Lignin characteristics and density fractions of termite nests in an Amazonian rain forest–indicators of termite feeding guilds, Soil Biol. Biochem., 34, 367–372, 2002. 
Belanger, E., Lucotte, M., Gregoire, B., Moingt, M., Paquet, S., Davidson, R., Mertens, F., Passos, C. J. S., and Romana, C.: Lignin signatures of vegetation and soils in tropical environments, Adv. Enviro. Res., 4, 247–262, 2015. 
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Short summary
Chemotaxonomic identification of keystone plant species in the Bale Mountains are possible using lignin phenols. However, Erica could not be differentiated chemotaxonomically from all other investigated plants using n-alkanes. Unambiguous characteristic patterns of lignin phenols reflected in the plant samples were not sustained in the organic layers and mineral topsoils. This is due to degradation and organic matter inputs by roots. Therefore, the past extent of Erica is still speculative.