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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Can stable isotopes and radiocarbon dating provide a forensic solution for curbing illegal harvesting of threatened
Kirsten Retief1, Adam G West, Michèle F Pfab
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X1, Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa.
Abstract:
Cycads in South Africa are facing an extinction crisis due to the illegal extraction of plants from the wild. Proving wild origin of suspect ex situ cycads to the satisfaction of a court of law is difficult, limiting law enforcement efforts. We investigated the feasibility of using multiple stable isotopes to identify specimens removed from the wild. Relocated and wild specimens from two species in the African genus Encephalartos (E. lebomboensis and E. arenarius) were sampled. (14) C analysis indicated that a ± 30-year chronology could be reliably obtained from the cycads. For E. arenarius, pre-relocation tissue was consistent with a wild origin, whereas tissue grown post-relocation was isotopically distinct from the wild for (87) Sr/(86) Sr and δ(15) N. For E. lebomboensis, δ(34) S, δ(18) O, and (87) Sr/(86) Sr were different between relocated and control plants, consistent with the >30 years since relocation. Our findings demonstrate the potential for a forensic isotope approach to identify illegal ex situ cycads.
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