Molecular characterisation of soil surface horizons with different vegetation in the Vosges Massif (France)

The total lipid extracts (TLEs) from a series of 13 soil surface samples from sites covered by a stable vegetation for at least 150 years and located in the Vosges Massif (France) have been investigated in order to establish a molecular reference for soil surface horizons. The TLEs are dominated by plant n-alkyl lipids with distributions (homologue predominance) clearly discriminant with regard to the vegetation cover. Higher plant terpenoids, present in varying relative abundances, allow distinction between soils from grassland and oak, fir and beech forests to be made. Furthermore, the occurrence of some specific terpenoids seems to be restricted to a particular vegetation cover, so they may therefore be used as diagnostic markers for tracing back past vegetation in ancient soils.