Fig. 2: Schematic illustration of change in relative abundance of DNA due to taphonomic processes.
From: Dead or alive: sediment DNA archives as tools for tracking aquatic evolution and adaptation

This figure illustrates the processes affecting DNA distribution, degradation and/or preferential preservation during the transitions from the pelagic to the benthic zones, and from the surface sediment to the deeper sediment. The approximate timescales of preservation of different fractions of the sediment record is also illustrated.