Hydrogen and carbon isotopic ratios of the cellulose nitrate and saponifiable lipid fractions prepared from annual growth rings of a California redwood

The D/H and ^(13)C/^(12)C C ratios of the cellulose nitrate and saponifiable lipid fractions prepared from eleven annual growth rings of a California redwood were determined. The D/H ratios of the two fractions are related to one another for the annual rings in the sapwood portion of the tree, but not for those in the heartwood or in the wood undergoing the transition from sapwood to heartwood. No relationship was observed between the ^(13)C/^(12)C ratios of the two fractions. These results suggest that analysis of the hydrogen isotopic composition of the saponifiable lipid fractions in plants will provide information useful for climatic reconstruction provided the initial isotopic record has not been changed by subsequent physiological or diagenetic processes.