Atmospheric dust samples collected along a transect off the West African coast have been investigated for their lipid content and compound-specific stable carbon isotope compositions. The saturated hydrocarbon fractions of the organic solvent extracts consist mainly of long-chain n-alkanes derived from epicuticular wax coatings of terrestrial plants. Backward trajectories for each sampling day and location were calculated using a global atmospheric circulation model. The main atmospheric transport took place in the low-level trade-wind layer, except in the southern region, where long-range transport in the mid-troposphere occurred. Changes in the chain length distributions of the n-alkane homologous series are probably related to aridity, rather than temperature or vegetation type. The carbon preference of the leaf-wax n-alkanes shows significant variation, attributed to a variable contribution of fossil fuel- or marine-derived lipids. The effect of this nonwax contribution on the δ 1 3 C values of the two dominant n-alkanes in the aerosols, n-C 2 9 and n-C 3 1 alkane, is, however, insignificant. Their δ 1 3 C values were translated into a percentage of C 4 vs. C 3 plant type contribution, using a two-component mixing equation with isotopic end-member values from the literature. The data indicate that only regions with a predominant C 4 type vegetation, i.e. the Sahara, the Sahel, and Gabon, supply C 4 plant-derived lipids to dust organic matter. The stable carbon isotopic compositions of leaf-wax lipids in aerosols mainly reflect the modern vegetation type along their transport pathway. Wind abrasion of wax particles from leaf surfaces, enhanced by a sandblasting effect, is most probably the dominant process of terrigenous lipid contribution to aerosols.