The relationship of plant leaf δ13Cn-alkanes and salinity in coastal ecosystems applied to palaeobotany: Case study from the Cenomanian of the Bohemian Cretaceous Basin, Czechia

Stable carbon isotopes in fossil leaf cuticles (n-alkanes, δ13Cn−alkanes) extracted from the sediment are widely used for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. This approach relies on a series of assumptions (such as the plant-group-specific isotopic range, or the atmospheric CO2 being the major factor for the isotopic values) and leaves out the complexity of the carbon isotope fractionation within the plant through time, space, and different environments. The leaf cuticle is a unique archive of local environmental conditions, which has the potential to constrain individual plant habitat. To explore the applicability of the information gained from the δ13Cn−alkanes from fossil plants, a fossil coastal environment was studied.