Intraspecific Dominance Determines Subseasonal Pinus ponderosa Growth Response to Warm‐Season Precipitation Amid Drought in Southern Nevada, USA

The impact of moisture sources on the oxygen isotope composition of precipitation at a continental site in central Europe

Aims Plant water use is an important aspect of plant-water relations in desert regions, and is vital in understanding the adaptation of desert species to arid environment. Haloxylon ammodendron is a dominant plant species in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China. Its water use pattern has an important effect on water balance of the local ecosystem and plant community composition. This study aims to investigate the dynamics of water usage in H. ammodendron and its response to soil water fluctuations resulting from precipitation pulses. Methods Oxygen stable isotope ratios (δO) were measured for xylem water, soil water in different soil layers (0–300 cm depth), precipitation and groundwater. Four potential water sources were classified: shallow (0–40 cm), middle (40–100 cm) and deep soil water (100–300 cm), and groundwater. The possible ranges of potential water sources used by H. ammodendron were calculated using the IsoSource model. Important findings Main water sources for H. ammodendron shifted from the shallow soil water in April to the groundwater during May to September. In April, the contributions of shallow soil water were in the range of 62%–95%, and the possible ranges of middle and deep soil water and groundwater were 0–8%, 0–15% and 0–38%, respectively. However, during May to September, the contribution of shallow soil water decreased drastically while that of groundwater increased rapidly. Contributions of groundwater were in the range of 68%–100%. Haloxylon ammodendron responded differently to two similar precipitation pulses occurred in different months. After the 6.7 mm precipitation pulse on May 22, the usage of soil water increased from 9.8% prior to the event to maximum at 40.4% one day after rainfall (May 23), while the usage of groundwater decreased from 83%–98% to 42%–81%. After 7 mm precipitation pulse on August 31, the usage of soil water was almost unchanged and the usage of groundwater was still up to 71%–98%, implying that roots of H. ammodendron in the upper soil layer are 戴岳等: 古尔班通古特沙漠南缘梭梭水分利用动态 1215 doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00117 inactive due to the long-lasting low soil water content. Hence, H. ammodendron seemed to be insensitive to the August precipitation pulse. The shallow soil water recharged by snowmelt and precipitation in spring and groundwater are two important water sources for H. ammodendron. Dynamics of water usage in H. ammodendron reflects its adaptation to this water-limiting desert environment.

Last glacial and Holocene stable isotope record of fossil dripwater from subtropical Brazil based on analysis of fluid inclusions in stalagmites

The stable isotopic composition of precipitation in different regions reflects climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation, moisture sources, and transport process. However, the isotopic variation in the region is usually much complicated due to the combined influences of these factors. A good understanding of climatic controls on the isotopic composition of precipitation can contribute to the study on isotopic tracer for climate and hydrology. To investigate the isotopic variation of precipitation and its climatic controls in the middle of the Tibetan Plateau, a monitoring station for stable isotope in precipitation has been established in Nagqu region, central Tibetan Plateau. We obtained 79 daily samples at Nagqu Meteorological Station in 2000. The observed δ18O in precipitation showed a distinctly seasonal pattern with higher values in spring and winter and lower values in summer, despite of individually low values in winter due to extremely low temperature. To further understand this pattern, we evaluated the influence of temperature, precipitation, moisture sources, and moisture transport process on precipitation δ18O. A multiple linear regression model represents quantitatively the dependence of precipitation δ18O on precipitation and temperature: δ18Oppt = −0.30P − 0.11T − 14.8 (R2 = 0.13, n = 79, P = 0.005), which indicates δ18O values in precipitation are more dependent on precipitation amount than on temperature. In contrast, when the temperature is low enough (<2°C), δ18O values in precipitation are mainly dependent on temperature: δ18Oppt = 0.53T − 10.2 (R2 = 0.44, n = 19, P = 0.002). The variation of δ18O in precipitation is also closely related to moisture origins and transport trajectories. A model is set up to trace the trajectories for air masses arriving in the observed region, and the results demonstrated that humid marine air masses from the Indian Ocean generally have significantly lower δ18O values than dry continental air masses from the north or local re-evaporation. During monsoon precipitation, the distance and depth of moisture transport as well as convective precipitation all lead to the large variability of δ18O in precipitation.

Regional variations in plant-available soil water storage and related driving factors in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin, China

Water is a major limiting factor in desert ecosystems. In order to learn how plants cope with changes in water resources over time and space, it is important to understand plant–water relations in desert region. Using the oxygen isotopic tracing method, our study clarified the seasonal changes in the water use strategies of three co-occurring desert shrubs. During the 2012 growing season, δ18O values were measured for xylem sap, the soil water in different soil layers between 0 and 300 cm depth and groundwater. Based on the similarities in δ18O values for the soil water in each layer, three potential water sources were identified: shallow soil water, middle soil water and deep soil water. Then we calculated the percentage utilization of potential water sources by each species in each season using the linear mixing model. The results showed that the δ18O values of the three species showed a clear seasonal pattern. Reaumuria songarica used shallow soil water when shallow layer was relatively wet in spring, but mostly took up middle soil water in summer and autumn. Nitraria tangutorum mainly utilized shallow and middle soil water in spring, but mostly absorbed deep soil water in summer and autumn. Tamarix ramosissima utilized the three water sources evenly in spring and primarily relied on deep soil water in summer and autumn. R. songarica and N. tangutorum responded quickly to large rainfall pulses during droughts. Differential root systems of the three species resulted in different seasonal water use strategies when the three competed for water. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Oxygen isotope ratios of oak in east England: implications for reconstructing the isotopic composition of precipitation

Rapid Middle Eocene temperature change in western North America

Spatial and temporal variation in the isotopic composition of Ethiopian precipitation

The oxygen isotope composition of cellulose (δ18O values) has been suggested to contain information on stomatal conductance (gs) responses to rising pCO2. The extent by which pCO2 affects leaf water and cellulose δ18O values (δ18OLW and δ18OC) and the isotope processes that determine pCO2 effects on δ18OLW and δ18OC are, however, unknown. We tested the effects of pCO2 on gs, δ18OLW and δ18OC in a glasshouse experiment, where six plant species were grown under pCO2 ranging from 200 to 500 ppm. Increasing pCO2 caused a decline in gs and an increase in δ18OLW, as expected. Importantly, the effects of pCO2 on gs and δ18OLW were small and pCO2 effects on δ18OLW were not directly transferred to δ18OC but were attenuated in grasses and amplified in dicotyledonous herbs and legumes. This is likely because of functional group-specific pCO2 effects on the model parameter pxpex. Our study highlights important uncertainties when using δ18OC as a proxy for gs. Specifically, pCO2-triggered gs effects on δ18OLW and δ18OC are possibly too small to be detected in natural settings and a pCO2 effect on pxpex may render the commonly assumed negative linkage between δ18OC and gs to be incorrect, potentially confounding δ18OC based gs reconstructions.

This study examines precipitation samples collected at the Yushu meteorological station on the eastern Tibetan Plateau from November 2000 to November 2002. Results show that air-temperature effects control δ18O in precipitation in this area. Values of δ18O in precipitation positively correlate with air temperature, especially for monthly averages. Our data also show δ18O values in precipitation positively correlate with dew point and surface pressure in the Yushu region. Similar to other stations (Tuotuohe, Nagqu, Gaize and Shiquanhe) lying in the transition zone between the regions in the south dominated by the monsoon and those in the north dominated by the westerlies, because of the effect of monsoon precipitation, precipitation rates are high, and heavy isotopes are more depleted in summer at the Yushu station. Accordingly, values of δ18O in precipitation correlate more strongly with air temperature and dew point before the monsoon onset and after the monsoon retreat than during the monsoon period. That is, intense monsoon activities weaken the correlations between δ18O and air temperature and dew point. Clearly, dew point, surface pressure and the monsoon intensity contribute to controlling the δ18O values in precipitation at the Yushu station.

Characterizing oxygen isotope variability and host water relation of modern and subfossil aquatic mosses

Three sampling cross sections along the south path starting from the Tropics through the vapor passage in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the middle-low reaches of the Yangtze River, the north path from West China, via North China, to Japan under the westerlies, and the plateau path from South Asia over the Himalayas to the northern Tibetan Plateau, are set up, based on the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)/WMO global survey network and sampling sites on the Tibetan Plateau. The variations, and the relationship with precipitation and temperature, of the δ18O in precipitation along the three cross sections are analyzed and compared. Along the south path, the seasonal differences of mean δ18O in precipitation are small at the stations located in the Tropics, but increase markedly from Bangkok towards the north, with the δ18O in the rainy season smaller than in the dry season. The δ18O values in precipitation fluctuate on the whole, which shows that there are different vapor sources. Along the north path, the seasonal differences of the mean δ18O in precipitation for the stations in the west of Zhengzhou are all greater than in the east of Zhengzhou. During the cold half of the year, the mean δ18O in precipitation reaches its minimum at Urumqi with the lowest temperature due to the wide, cold high pressure over Mongolia, then increases gradually with longitude, and remains at roughly the same level at the stations eastward from Zhengzhou. During the warm half of the year, the δ18O values in precipitation are lower in the east than in the west, markedly influenced by the summer monsoon over East Asia. Along the plateau path, the mean δ18O values in precipitation in the rainy season are correspondingly high in the southern parts of the Indian subcontinent, and then decrease gradually with latitude. A sharp depletion of the stable isotopic compositions in precipitation takes place due to the very strong rainout of the stable isotopic compositions in vapor in the process of lifting over the southern slope of the Himalayas. The low level of the δ18O in precipitation is from Nyalam to the Tanggula Mountains during the rainy season, but δ18O increases persistently with increasing latitude from the Tanggula Mountains to the northern Tibetan Plateau because of the replenishment of vapor with relatively heavy stable isotopic compositions originating from the inner plateau. During the dry season, the mean δ18O values in precipitation basically decrease along the path from the south to the north. Generally, the mean δ18O in precipitation during the rainy season is lower than in the dry season for the regions controlled by the monsoons over South Asia or the plateau, and opposite for the regions without a monsoon or with a weak monsoon.

Younger Dryas and early Holocene climate in south Greenland inferred from oxygen isotopes of chironomids, aquatic Moss, and Moss cellulose

The effects of local and regional parameters on the δ18O and δ2H values of precipitation and surface water resources in the Middle East