Plant waxes, widely used as biomarkers for paleoenvironmental reconstructions in boreal peatlands, remain relatively understudied in Andean “bofedales” peat meaning that their application in these ecosystems requires a better understanding of local vegetation. This study therefore compares four plant wax classes – n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanes, n-alkanols, and sterols – in leaves and sheaths of Distichia muscoides and Oxychloe andina, that form cushions (or mounds), in a bofedal in northern Chile. Analyses indicate that wax concentrations were higher in D. muscoides and n-alkanoic acids were dominant in both species and showed significant differences in the average chain length (ACL; O. andina = 27.3, σ = 0.78; D. muscoides = 26.8, σ = 0.18; p < 0.05), while those for the n-alkanes were similar. Mean n-alkanol abundances were significantly higher in D. muscoides (171.5; σ = 76.7 μg/g) than in O. andina (32.1; σ = 53.5 μg/g, p < 0.05) and among sterols, β-sitosterol was the most abundant in both species. Plant wax distributions were similar between organs, except for the ACL of the n-alkanoic acids in D. muscoides (leaves = 26.8, σ = 0.2; sheaths = 25.9, σ = 0.1; p < 0.001). For both species, leaf–sheath differences in plant wax abundance and size suggest that leaves contribute most to peat (∼4× n-alkanoic acids, ∼2× n-alkanes). The study reports four compound classes detected in “cushion” plants towards their application in the bofedales peat of the Andean Altiplano. In particular we find that n-alkanes show minimal differences between species, suggesting suitability for testing for compound-specific isotopic analysis-based paleoclimate proxies in bofedales. β-Sitosterol is highly abundant and may serve as a biomarker for the presence of the studied species. Overall, the bofedales have potential as archives of plant wax from these cushion plants towards paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
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