Lignin phenols in the paleoenvironmental reconstruction of high mountain peatlands from Atlantic Rainforest, SE - Brazil

Abstract Tropical peatlands are very different from boreal and temperate regions, because they have particular climatic characteristics and different vegetation types. Similarly, high mountain peatlands differ significantly from those found at low altitudes. Lignin components were investigated as phyto-physiological proxies of landscape evolution in two big national environmental conservation parks of Southeastern Brazil. Lignin phenols showed a high degree of humification and indicated the same land-use for both forest parks, suggesting minimal anthropic intervention over the last 150 years, predominating native grasslands. However, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) parameters evidenced the influence of indirect effects of human activities, mainly from atmospheric deposition since 1950s, associated to the early Brazilian industrial development. This study reinforces the importance of protection and conservation to those pristine areas.