[3] In addition to defunctionalization, abietanes likely undergo dehydrogenation and aromatization reactions to form more energetically stable systems of conjugated pi bonds in their characteristic three ring structure.

[3] Abietanes found in modern gymnosperm resins as well as in the rock record are separated and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

[4] More oxidized abietane derivatives have been studied using thermally assisted methylation using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) followed by GC-MS analysis.

[7][8] Although the functions of terpenes are not fully understood, conifers appear to produce abietane diterpenoids as a form of defense against insect and microbial attack.

[9][10] Some abietane diterpenoids, especially aromatic abietenes, are of interest to the pharmacology and natural products communities for their potential biological activities.

[1] In the rock record, abietanes are commonly found in amber as well as in fossil wood, sometimes in the form of the mineral fichtelite.

Additionally, abietanes are observed in sediments—both riverine and marine—and in coals, where they are often interpreted as geochemical biomarkers for terrestrial input from conifers.

Loss of more volatile mono- and sesquiterpenoids during diagenetic heating may help explain the different relative abundance of diterpenoids, including abietanes, in ancient resins and the rock record compared to modern conifer samples.