Articles | Volume 7, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-785-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/soil-7-785-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Transformation of n-alkanes from plant to soil: a review
Carrie L. Thomas
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich,
Switzerland
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098XH, the Netherlands
Boris Jansen
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098XH, the Netherlands
E. Emiel van Loon
Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098XH, the Netherlands
Guido L. B. Wiesenberg
Department of Geography, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich,
Switzerland
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Cited
52 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Sedimentary organic and inorganic biomarkers reveal historical environmental changes at the Lower Rhine River, Germany L. Bellanova et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113376
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- Optimizing Cryo-Focused Pyrolysis GC/MS for Tracing Soil Organic Matter Across Diverse Ecosystems A. Shahriar et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c16415
- Hydrodynamic, Seasonal, and Climatic Factors Affecting the Terrestrial-to-Aquatic Export of Plant-Derived Biomarkers M. Schwab et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2024.12.009
- Regional and local drivers of vegetation and humidity dynamics in Western Siberia during the Holocene: A case study of Mukhrino mire L. Amon et al. https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836251387252
- Transformation of lignin and lipid biomarkers through degradation of plant tissues and soil organic carbon in a salt marsh-mangrove ecotone P. Assavapanuvat et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2025.105084
- EcoStrategic index: Economic value creation through product portfolio diversity for waste-to-x technologies Z. Barahmand & M. Eikeland https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115507
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- n-Alkyl lipid signatures across similar plant-soil continuum reveals depth-dependent edaphic controls on carbon stabilisation B. Roy et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2026.105216
- The predominance of root- and salt-marsh-derived soil organic carbon in a mangrove poleward range expansion front P. Assavapanuvat et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117249
- Modelling the solid–liquid–vapour phase behaviour of n -alkanes in a TPT-1 framework V. Ramírez-Carpio et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2023.2204150
- Chroma: A MATLAB package and open-source platform for biomarker data processing and automatic index calculations J. Traphagan & G. Zhuang https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2024.105675
- From roots to residues: Tracing contrasting pathways of carbon incorporation into soil organic matter of a Mediterranean agricultural trial L. San-Emeterio et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.110179
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- On-site plant-wax biomarker analysis for assessing soil-organic-microbial degradation in archaeological contexts: A case study from Southern India G. Jha et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113656
- Validating the accuracy of multiple sediment fingerprinting methods W. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4437
- Climate change and human impacts on aquatic communities at Etoliko Lagoon in western Greece A. Taylor et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174590
- Amorphous aluminum hydroxide and rice-husk biochar enhance new organic carbon stabilization via different mechanisms H. Lyu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117721
- Changes in soil organic matter in intercropped coffee systems and their effects on soil enzymatic and microbial activity S. Moreira et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106574
- Niche-specific modulation of long-chain n-alkanes degrading bacterial community and their functionality in forest habitats across the leaf litter-soil compartments B. Hussain et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2023.105248
- Faecal n-alkanes differ significantly between two lemur species reflecting differences in consumed diet G. Baker et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2025.105124
- Sources of sedimentary organic matter in Arctic fjords: Evidence from lipid molecular markers M. Krajewska et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2023.105053
- Organic residue analysis reveals the use of ambergris in a late Warring States royal tomb B. Qi et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-026-02462-2
- Decadal application of mineral fertilizers alters the molecular composition and origins of organic matter in particulate and mineral-associated fractions Z. Zou et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109042
- Stable isotope ecology of terra preta in Caxiuanã National Forest, Brazil D. Wright et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1172406
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- Characterization and chemo-taxonomic evaluation of plant leaf waxes (long chain n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanes and n-alkanols) as a vegetation biomarker from species of the South American temperate forest (STF) C. Cerda-Peña & S. Contreras https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108675
- Unexpectedly high aldehyde emissions from stems of six major European tree species H. Lee et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111193
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- Depth effects of organic matter stabilization in temperate acidic forest soils Z. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2026.110248
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- Concentration Levels, Spatial Distribution and Source Identification of PAHs, n-Alkanes, Hopanes and Steranes in Deposited Dust of Mashhad, Iran, and Potential Health Risk Assessment F. Mahdad et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40710-022-00591-x
- Changes in organic molecular marker signatures in soils amended with biochar during a three-year experiment with maize on a Fluvisol I. Atanassova et al. https://doi.org/10.2478/johh-2022-0025
- Preserved lipid signatures in palaeosols help to distinguish the impacts of palaeoclimate and indigenous peoples on palaeovegetation in northwest Siberia L. Harrault et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104407
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- Chaparral wildfire shifts the functional potential for soil pyrogenic organic matter and nitrogen cycling M. Pulido Barriga et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109985
- Conservation with elephants and agricultural intensification: effects on lignin and n-alkanes in soils of sub-Saharan Africa A. Sandhage-Hofmann et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.116009
- Impact of Climate on Soil Organic Matter Composition in Soils of Tropical Volcanic Regions Revealed by EGA-MS and Py-GC/MS H. Lyu et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c07000
- A 25-million year record of organo-facies evolution in latest Triassic–early Jurassic coastal-deltaic to offshore environments in NE-Germany W. Ruebsam et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113166
- Evaluating the applicability of the VERHIB model to a 2600-year peat sequence from Central Germany C. Thomas et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2025.106338
- Time‐integrated δ2H in n‐alkanes and carbohydrates from boreal needles reveal intra‐annual physiological and environmental signals C. Angove et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20448
52 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Sedimentary organic and inorganic biomarkers reveal historical environmental changes at the Lower Rhine River, Germany L. Bellanova et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113376
- New insights into source of long chain n-alkanes in cave stalagmites Y. Zhao et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2026.01.031
- Atlantic Forest conversion to organic banana agroforestry changes soil organic matter composition but not carbon stocks in Brazil O. Leal et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117836
- Biomarker proxies for reconstructing Quaternary climate and environmental change E. McClymont et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3559
- Differences in Tar Yield and Molecular Structure of Vitrinite in Tar-Rich Coal with Different Origins C. Li et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11053-025-10511-z
- Impacts of Arctic diesel contamination on microbial community composition and degradative gene abundance during hydrocarbon biodegradation with and without nutrients: A case study of seven sub-Arctic soils A. Kundu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161777
- Optimizing Cryo-Focused Pyrolysis GC/MS for Tracing Soil Organic Matter Across Diverse Ecosystems A. Shahriar et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c16415
- Hydrodynamic, Seasonal, and Climatic Factors Affecting the Terrestrial-to-Aquatic Export of Plant-Derived Biomarkers M. Schwab et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2024.12.009
- Regional and local drivers of vegetation and humidity dynamics in Western Siberia during the Holocene: A case study of Mukhrino mire L. Amon et al. https://doi.org/10.1177/09596836251387252
- Transformation of lignin and lipid biomarkers through degradation of plant tissues and soil organic carbon in a salt marsh-mangrove ecotone P. Assavapanuvat et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2025.105084
- EcoStrategic index: Economic value creation through product portfolio diversity for waste-to-x technologies Z. Barahmand & M. Eikeland https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115507
- Characterizing sedimentary organic carbon in a hydrothermal spreading center, the Escanaba Trough H. Ianiri et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122679
- n-Alkyl lipid signatures across similar plant-soil continuum reveals depth-dependent edaphic controls on carbon stabilisation B. Roy et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2026.105216
- The predominance of root- and salt-marsh-derived soil organic carbon in a mangrove poleward range expansion front P. Assavapanuvat et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2025.117249
- Modelling the solid–liquid–vapour phase behaviour of n -alkanes in a TPT-1 framework V. Ramírez-Carpio et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/00268976.2023.2204150
- Chroma: A MATLAB package and open-source platform for biomarker data processing and automatic index calculations J. Traphagan & G. Zhuang https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2024.105675
- From roots to residues: Tracing contrasting pathways of carbon incorporation into soil organic matter of a Mediterranean agricultural trial L. San-Emeterio et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.110179
- Holocene vegetation reconstruction in the forest–steppe of Mongolia based on leaf waxes and macro-charcoals in soils M. Lerch et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-71-91-2022
- On-site plant-wax biomarker analysis for assessing soil-organic-microbial degradation in archaeological contexts: A case study from Southern India G. Jha et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113656
- Validating the accuracy of multiple sediment fingerprinting methods W. Dai et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4437
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- Amorphous aluminum hydroxide and rice-husk biochar enhance new organic carbon stabilization via different mechanisms H. Lyu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2026.117721
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- Niche-specific modulation of long-chain n-alkanes degrading bacterial community and their functionality in forest habitats across the leaf litter-soil compartments B. Hussain et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2023.105248
- Faecal n-alkanes differ significantly between two lemur species reflecting differences in consumed diet G. Baker et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2025.105124
- Sources of sedimentary organic matter in Arctic fjords: Evidence from lipid molecular markers M. Krajewska et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2023.105053
- Organic residue analysis reveals the use of ambergris in a late Warring States royal tomb B. Qi et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-026-02462-2
- Decadal application of mineral fertilizers alters the molecular composition and origins of organic matter in particulate and mineral-associated fractions Z. Zou et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2023.109042
- Stable isotope ecology of terra preta in Caxiuanã National Forest, Brazil D. Wright et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1172406
- A matter of extraction – Extraction yields and ratios of faecal lipid biomarker from archaeological soils using Soxhlet, microwave-assisted and accelerated-solvent extraction S. Scherer et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2024.104863
- Characterization and chemo-taxonomic evaluation of plant leaf waxes (long chain n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanes and n-alkanols) as a vegetation biomarker from species of the South American temperate forest (STF) C. Cerda-Peña & S. Contreras https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108675
- Unexpectedly high aldehyde emissions from stems of six major European tree species H. Lee et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111193
- Geoderma Organic Geochemical Biomarkers for Estimation of Petroleum Inputs in Soil of Alluvial Area Near Sava River, New Belgrade (Serbia) G. Dević et al. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4192419
- Non-negligible roles of archaea in coastal carbon biogeochemical cycling X. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tim.2022.11.008
- Organic geochemical investigations of an MIS 5 fire in the Palaeolithic deposits of Ormesson (Seine-et-Marne, France): Anthropic or natural? I. Notterpek et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109708
- Sedimentary insights into organic matter alteration in Arctic Alaska's saline permafrost F. Seemann et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3675-2026
- Nitrogen Addition-Induced Variations in Stoichiometric Ratio of Organic Acids from Litter Decomposition in a Temperate Forest Q. Lu et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/f17050622
- Leaf wax biomarkers of a high-mountain lake area in western iberia—Implications for environmental reconstructions R. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.994377
- Leaf wax n-alkane distribution and hydrogen isotopic fractionation in fen plant communities of two Mediterranean wetlands (Tenaghi Philippon, Nisí fen—Greece) N. Ardenghi et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2024.1359157
- Depth effects of organic matter stabilization in temperate acidic forest soils Z. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2026.110248
- Lipid Biomarkers in Urban Soils of the Alluvial Area near Sava River, Belgrade, Serbia G. Dević et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30010154
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- Preserved lipid signatures in palaeosols help to distinguish the impacts of palaeoclimate and indigenous peoples on palaeovegetation in northwest Siberia L. Harrault et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2022.104407
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- Chaparral wildfire shifts the functional potential for soil pyrogenic organic matter and nitrogen cycling M. Pulido Barriga et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2025.109985
- Conservation with elephants and agricultural intensification: effects on lignin and n-alkanes in soils of sub-Saharan Africa A. Sandhage-Hofmann et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2022.116009
- Impact of Climate on Soil Organic Matter Composition in Soils of Tropical Volcanic Regions Revealed by EGA-MS and Py-GC/MS H. Lyu et al. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c07000
- A 25-million year record of organo-facies evolution in latest Triassic–early Jurassic coastal-deltaic to offshore environments in NE-Germany W. Ruebsam et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113166
- Evaluating the applicability of the VERHIB model to a 2600-year peat sequence from Central Germany C. Thomas et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2025.106338
- Time‐integrated δ2H in n‐alkanes and carbohydrates from boreal needles reveal intra‐annual physiological and environmental signals C. Angove et al. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20448
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 15 Jun 2026
Short summary
Plant organs, such as leaves, contain a variety of chemicals that are eventually deposited into soil and can be useful for studying organic carbon cycling. We performed a systematic review of available data of one type of plant-derived chemical, n-alkanes, to determine patterns of degradation or preservation from the source plant to the soil. We found that while there was degradation in the amount of n-alkanes from plant to soil, some aspects of the chemical signature were preserved.
Plant organs, such as leaves, contain a variety of chemicals that are eventually deposited into...