Soil Biomarkers as Indicators of Landscape Evolution on the Russian Plain
I. V. Kovalev, Н.О. Ковалева
Abstract
Abstract Biomarkers, due to their structure and biochemistry, are resistant to soil degradation and mineralization under particular environmental conditions, and therefore can provide molecular evidence of paleobiota and past land vegetation, and of the intensity of not only modern, but also past biochemical processes in the biosphere. Parameters of the humus group composition, optical densities of solutions of humic acids, pool of chlorophyll, lipids, fatty acids, and lignin phenols together with the isotopic composition of organic carbon and soil age are suggested as promising biomarkers for paleoecological studies.
Topics & Concepts
HumusMineralization (soil science)LigninEnvironmental chemistryBiosphereVegetation (pathology)ChemistrySoil waterEnvironmental scienceSoil scienceEarth scienceGeologyEcologyBiologyOrganic chemistryMedicinePathologySoil and Environmental StudiesGeology and Paleoclimatology ResearchMarine and environmental studies