Effect of floods on the ?13C values in plant leaves: a study of willows in Northeastern Siberia.
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ABSTRACT: Although stable carbon isotopic composition (?13C) of plants has been widely used to indicate different water regimes in terrestrial ecosystems over the past four decades, the changes in the plant ?13C value under waterlogging have not been sufficiently clarified. With the enhanced global warming in recent years, the increasing frequency and severity of river floods in Arctic regions lead to more waterlogging on willows that are widely distributed in river lowland. To investigate the ?13C changes in plants under different water conditions (including waterlogging), we measured the ?13C values in the leaves of willows with three species, Salix boganidensis, S. glauca, and S. pulchra, and also monitored changes in plant physiology, under several major flooding conditions in Northeastern Siberia. The foliar ?13C values of willows varied, ranging from -31.6 to -25.7‰ under the different hydrological status, which can be explained by: (i) under normal conditions, the foliar ?13C values decrease from dry (far from a river) to wet (along a river bank) areas; (ii) the ?13C values increase in frequently waterlogged areas owing to stomatal closure; and (iii) after prolonged flooding periods, the ?13C values again decrease, probably owing to the effects of not only the closure of stomata but also the reduction of foliar photosynthetic ability under long period of waterlogging. Based on these results, we predict that plant ?13C values are strongly influenced by plant physiological responses to diverse hydrological conditions, particularly the long periods of flooding, as occurs in Arctic regions.
SUBMITTER: Fan R
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6151259 | biostudies-literature | 2018
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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