Global-scale altitude effect on leaf wax n-alkane δD values in terrestrial higher plants

Numerous field studies have shown that leaf wax n-alkane delta D values (delta Dn-alkane) can be used as a proxy for paleoelevation reconstruction. However, the lack of systematic global analysis of delta Dn-alkane values with respect to altitude limits the reliability of delta Dn-alkane values for paleoaltimetry at the global scale. In this study, we analyzed the variation of delta Dn-alkane values with altitude in terrestrial higher plants based upon our compiled global delta Dn-alkane database. The general decrease in delta Dn-alkane values with altitude corresponds to the variation in precipitation delta D (delta D-prec) with altitude, suggesting that the delta Dn-alkane values effectively reflect delta D-prec values. When eliminating the effect of latitude at the global scale, the global delta Dn-alkane-altitude lapse rate for all species was -1.01 +/- 0.10 parts per thousand (100 m)(-1), while these lapse rates were -1.03 +/- 0.13 parts per thousand and -0.47 +/- 0.13 parts per thousand (100 m)(-1) for dicots and monocots, respectively. Our study reveals that it is reliable to use delta Dn-alkane values to gain information about paleoelevation at the global scale, and the global delta Dn-alkane-altitude lapse rates provide an alternative to reconstruct paleoelevation at some delta Dn-alkane-uninvestigated areas.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the reliability of using leaf wax n-alkane delta D values as a proxy for paleoelevation reconstruction on a global scale. The global delta Dn-alkane-altitude lapse rates provide an alternative method to reconstruct paleoelevation in uninvestigated areas.