Abstract
Compositions of phenolic compounds derived from lignin, fatty acids and sterols in peatland plants were investigated to furnish the fundamental data on their influence on the organic composition of peat. Twenty-four plant materials consisting of 13 different plant species were used in this study. Composition of phenolic compounds differed remarkably between grasses, woods, fern, and sphagnumo Fatty-acid composition also differed considerably among different plants. Phragmites was rich in arachidic acid (C20) and Moliniopsis was rich in stearic acid (C18). These features are presumed to be good indicators for low-moor and transitional-moor peat, respectively. On the other hand, Sphagnum was rich in palmitic acid (C16) and unsaturated fatty acids with carbon number 18. Sterols of peatland plants were composed mainly from β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol, Sphagnum was different from other plant in its high proportion of stigmasterol.
