Distribution of aliphatic ketones in Chinese soils: Potential environmental implications

Environmental evolution recorded by lipid biomarkers from the Tawan loess–paleosol sequences on the west Chinese Loess Plateau during the late Pleistocene

“…This difference suggests that stronger microbial activity accelerates the decomposition of the plant organic matter during formation of the paleosols, resulting in the decrease of the CPI-alk values in the loess-paleosol sequence. This result supports the interpretation that microbial activity is ordinarily stronger in a humid/warm environment than in a dry/cold one (Lavee et al 1998;Bai et al 2006). A similar pattern is also seen in the Xunyi ) and Chaona (Bai et al 2009) sections.…”

Composition and sources of organic matter and its solvent extractable components in surface sediments of a bay under serious anthropogenic influences: Daya Bay, China

“…Compared with other straight chain ketones, saturated n-alkan-2-ones are quite common and have been found in higher plant and phytoplankton biomass and a wide variety of depositional environments such as soils, peats, lacustrine and marine sediments, glacier ice, stalagmites, and aerosols (e.g., Hernandez et al, 2001;Tuo and Li, 2005;Bai et al, 2006 and references therein). The n-ketones occurring in higher plants and phytoplankton are generally C 23 -C 33 mid-chain ketones with a high predominance of odd numbered carbon chain lengths maximizing at C 25 , C 27 , C 29 , or C 31 (e.g., Baker, 1982;Hernandez et al, 2001).…”

“…Organic matter and its lipid components in different sedimentary environments have received extensive study because they can provide much information for interpreting sedimentary records regarding the sources, transport pathways and diagenetic processes of organic matter (e.g., Duan, 2000;Duan and Ma, 2001;Meyers, 2003;Tuo and Li, 2005;Bai et al, 2006;. Organic matter and its lipid components are naturally occurring materials, but their composition may be influenced by many human activities.…”

Methoxy n-fatty acids in surface soils from the Gongga and Kunlun Mountains: Ecological implications

“…Furthermore, soil samples usually result from multiple plant types, which could also complicate the relationship between the n-alkane distribution pattern and vegetation type in surface soils [17,18]. These findings complicate the use of certain n-alkane distributions in sediments as paleoenvironmental indicators.…”