Because literatures about the lipid compositions of modern soils in karst areas are scarce, we have studied the soil horizons overlying the Heshang （和尚） Cave that has provided paleoclimate records from speleothem lipid contents. Our analysis reveals a series of n-alkanes, free fatty acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones distribution and relative abundance changing with the depth, and in which the ratios of the lower molecular weight to higher molecular weight n-alkanes, free fatty acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones have a peak at a subsurface depth of 5 to 10 cm. An accompanying peakin 17β（H）, 21β（H）-hop-22（29）-ene （diploptene） and a shift to less negative n-alkane carbon isotopic values also identify this layer in the karst soil. This pattern indicates the existence of a subsurface soil layer in which the microorgan- isms that produce these compounds are espe- cially abundant. The carbon isotopic values of individual plant wax n-alkanes are about 3%0 greater at the base of the 30- to 40-cm soil profile than in the surface layer, probably as a result ofselective microbial degradation of n-alkanes from different primary sources. The lipids and carbon iso- topic values of individual plant wax n-alkanes study of the overlying soil show a strong microbial activity in this karst soil and help in interpreting the lipid compositions and specific carbon isotopic value of n-alkanes of the stalagmites of the Heshang Cave for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
On the basis of GC and GC-MS analyses, the seasonal variation of leaf lipids is observed in five plant species in Qingjiang in Hubei Province. The CPI values (carbon preference index) of n-alkanes decrease gradually from May to November, though the carbon number distributions and the predominant carbon number in an individual species keep unchanged. The declined CPI values might be caused by the leaf fading, which is further supported by a comparison of the defoliated leaves with the fresh leaves. This observation infers the CPI values of n-alkanes in Quaternary sediments can be used as a tool to index the humification, and thus the climatic and the environmental conditions. The plants analyzed here show a remarkable difference in n-alkanes abundance, suggesting their differential contribution to the n-alkanes identified in sediments. The abundance and the compound species of the n-alkenes detected in the plant leaves change greatly with the seasons due to the influence of temperature, with the least compounds being identified in August.
