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Depletion of 13C in lignin and its implications for stable carbon isotope studies

Nature volume 329, pages 708–710 (1987)Cite this article

Abstract

Stable carbon isotope compositions of organic matter are now widely used to trace carbon flow in ecosystems, and have been instrumental in shaping current perceptions of the importance of terrestrial vegetation to estuarine and coastal marine environments. A general assumption in these and other studies relying on carbon isotope compositions for source identification of organic matter has been that the major biochemical components of plant tissues are isotopically invariant. We report here large differences between the carbon isotope compositions of the polysaccharide and lignin components of a variety of vascular plants, including the salt-marsh grass Spartina alterniflora, and demonstrate that the carbon isotope composition of Spartina detritus gradually changes during biogeochemical processing as polysaccharides are preferentially removed, leaving a material that is relatively enriched in lignin-derived carbon and depleted in 13C.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Science Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Port Aransas, Texas, 78373, USA

    Ronald Benner

  2. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, 20008, USA

    Marilyn L. Fogel

  3. Center for Applied Isotope Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30604, USA

    E. Kent Sprague

  4. Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602, USA

    Robert E. Hodson

Authors
  1. Ronald Benner
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  2. Marilyn L. Fogel
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  3. E. Kent Sprague
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  4. Robert E. Hodson
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Benner, R., Fogel, M., Sprague, E. et al. Depletion of 13C in lignin and its implications for stable carbon isotope studies . Nature 329, 708–710 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1038/329708a0

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