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<p>Detecting C<sub>4</sub> plants consumption is central to investigating animal ecology, agriculture, dietary transitions, and socio-environmental adaptations, and can be done using carbon isotope analysis. The conventional <i>δ</i>¹³C threshold used to identify C<sub>4</sub> plant intake does not consider substantial ecological variability across Europe. By analyzing over 4,000 <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C values from archaeological C<sub>3</sub> and C<sub>4</sub> grains, we present a European-wide C<sub>3</sub> grain <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C baseline and establish adjusted <i>δ</i><sup>13</sup>C threshold estimations for C<sub>4</sub> consumption from the site to the ecozone scale using multicomponent environmental models and ecozone cluster analysis. We show that a fixed threshold lead to under- or overestimation of C<sub>4</sub> plant consumption, particularly in northern/humid and southern/arid regions, where the threshold needs to be revised downwards or upwards by up to 2‰. This refined framework offers a more accurate baseline for interpreting human and animal diet and enhances our understanding of the spread, adoption and consumption of C<sub>4</sub> crops across Europe.</p><p></p>

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Environmentally adjusted δ13C thresholds for accurate detection of C4 plant consumption in Europe

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年12月18日

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  • Margaux L. C. Depaermentier,
  • Michael Kempf,
  • Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė

摘要

Detecting C4 plants consumption is central to investigating animal ecology, agriculture, dietary transitions, and socio-environmental adaptations, and can be done using carbon isotope analysis. The conventional δ¹³C threshold used to identify C4 plant intake does not consider substantial ecological variability across Europe. By analyzing over 4,000 δ13C values from archaeological C3 and C4 grains, we present a European-wide C3 grain δ13C baseline and establish adjusted δ13C threshold estimations for C4 consumption from the site to the ecozone scale using multicomponent environmental models and ecozone cluster analysis. We show that a fixed threshold lead to under- or overestimation of C4 plant consumption, particularly in northern/humid and southern/arid regions, where the threshold needs to be revised downwards or upwards by up to 2‰. This refined framework offers a more accurate baseline for interpreting human and animal diet and enhances our understanding of the spread, adoption and consumption of C4 crops across Europe.