Tropical Leaf Wax n‐Alkane and n‐Alkanoic Acid Reflect δD of Precipitation During Early Stages of Leaf Growth: Insights From an Isotope Labeling Experiment

Abstract

The hydrogen isotopic compositions of leaf‐wax n‐alkanes (δDalk) and n‐alkanoic acids (δDacid) reflect ambient climatic conditions (including precipitation δD values, δDprecip). However, the understanding of climatic conditions of exactly which period (i.e., early or entire period of the leaf's lifespan) these biomarkers preserve is still evolving. Previous studies on the δDalk and δDacid values, done only in extra‐tropical regions, mostly indicate that δDalk values are biased toward the early growing season whereas δDacid values are not biased toward any season. To decipher the seasonal bias in δDalk and δDacid records from tropics, we conducted a long‐duration experiment wherein deciduous and evergreen species were grown using normal water (δD = −2‰) during early stages of the leaf growth and later using isotopically labeled water (δD = 1,000‰). Our experiment revealed (a) in deciduous and evergreen species, δDalk and δDacid values reflect δDprecip during early stages of the leaf growth, (b) synchronous synthesis of n‐alkanes and n‐alkanoic acids, and (c) in deciduous species, minor incorporation of the previous year's photosynthates in leaf wax pool of the current year's mature leaves. Our study suggests that δDalk and δDacid records in the tropics are biased toward the climatic conditions prevailing during early stages of leaf growth. This bias should be considered while comparing the δDprecip values generated from leaf wax proxy records and isotope‐enabled atmospheric circulation models.