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Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios of whole wood, cellulose and lignin methoxyl groups of Picea abies as climate proxies
Author(s) -
Gori Y.,
Wehrens R.,
Greule M.,
Keppler F.,
Ziller L.,
La Porta N.,
Camin F.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
rapid communications in mass spectrometry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.528
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1097-0231
pISSN - 0951-4198
DOI - 10.1002/rcm.6446
Subject(s) - cellulose , lignin , chemistry , stable isotope ratio , isotopes of carbon , picea abies , isotope ratio mass spectrometry , isotopes of oxygen , isotope , analytical chemistry (journal) , environmental chemistry , mass spectrometry , botany , chromatography , total organic carbon , nuclear chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , quantum mechanics , biology
RATIONALE Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen (C, H and O) stable isotope ratios of whole wood and components are commonly used as paleoclimate proxies. In this work we consider eight different proxies in order to discover the most suitable wood component and stable isotope ratio to provide the strongest climate signal in Picea abies in a southeastern Alpine region (Trentino, Italy). METHODS δ 13 C, δ 18 O and δ 2 H values in whole wood and cellulose, and δ 13 C and δ 2 H values in lignin methoxyl groups were measured. Analysis was performed using an Isotopic Ratio Mass Spectrometer coupled with an Elemental Analyser for measuring 13 C/ 12 C and a Pyrolyser for measuring 2 H/ 1 H and 18 O/ 16 O. The data were evaluated by Principal Component Analysis, and a simple Pearson's correlation between isotope chronologies and climatic features, and multiple linear regression were performed to evaluate the data. RESULTS Each stable isotope ratio in cellulose and lignin methoxyl differs significantly from the same stable isotope ratio in whole wood, the values begin higher in cellulose and lignin except for the lignin δ 2 H values. Significant correlations were found between the whole wood and the cellulose fractions for each isotope ratio. Overall, the highest correlations with temperature were found with the δ 18 O and δ 2 H values in whole wood, whereas no significant correlations were found between isotope proxies and precipitation. CONCLUSIONS δ 18 O and δ 2 H values in whole wood provide the best temperature signals in Picea abies in the northern Italian study area. Extraction of cellulose and lignin and analysis of other isotopic ratios do not seem to be necessary. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.