Dataset Information

Contrasting controls on tree ring isotope variation for Amazon floodplain and terra firme trees.

ABSTRACT: Isotopes in tropical trees rings can improve our understanding of tree responses to climate. We assessed how climate and growing conditions affect tree-ring oxygen and carbon isotopes (?18OTR and ?13CTR) in four Amazon trees. We analysed within-ring isotope variation for two terra firme (non-flooded) and two floodplain trees growing at sites with varying seasonality. We find distinct intra-annual patterns of ?18OTR and ?13CTR driven mostly by seasonal variation in weather and source water ?18O. Seasonal variation in isotopes was lowest for the tree growing under the wettest conditions. Tree ring cellulose isotope models based on existing theory reproduced well observed within-ring variation with possible contributions of both stomatal and mesophyll conductance to variation in ?13CTR. Climate analysis reveal that terra firme ?18OTR signals were related to basin-wide precipitation, indicating a source water ?18O influence, while floodplain trees recorded leaf enrichment effects related to local climate. Thus, intrinsically different processes (source water vs leaf enrichment) affect ?18OTR in the two different species analysed. These differences are likely a result of both species-specific traits and of the contrasting growing conditions in the floodplains and terra firme environments. Simultaneous analysis of ?13CTR and ?18OTR supports this interpretation as it shows strongly similar intra-annual patterns for both isotopes in the floodplain trees arising from a common control by leaf stomatal conductance, while terra firme trees showed less covariation between the two isotopes. Our results are interesting from a plant physiological perspective and have implications for climate reconstructions as trees record intrinsically different processes.

SUBMITTER: Barcante Ladvocat Cintra B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6594573 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Contrasting controls on tree ring isotope variation for Amazon floodplain and terra firme trees.

Barçante Ladvocat Cintra Bruno B Gloor Manuel M Boom Arnoud A Schöngart Jochen J Locosselli Giuliano Maselli GM Brienen Roel R

Tree physiology 20190501 5

Isotopes in tropical trees rings can improve our understanding of tree responses to climate. We assessed how climate and growing conditions affect tree-ring oxygen and carbon isotopes (δ18OTR and δ13CTR) in four Amazon trees. We analysed within-ring isotope variation for two terra firme (non-flooded) and two floodplain trees growing at sites with varying seasonality. We find distinct intra-annual patterns of δ18OTR and δ13CTR driven mostly by seasonal variation in weather and source water δ18O. ...[more]

PMID: 30824929

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Project description:Seasonal and annual partitioning of water within river floodplains has important implications for ecohydrologic links between the water cycle and tree growth. Climatic and hydrologic shifts alter water distribution between floodplain storage reservoirs (e.g., vadose, phreatic), affecting water availability to tree roots. Water partitioning is also dependent on the physical conditions that control tree rooting depth (e.g., gravel layers that impede root growth), the sources of contributing water, the rate of water drainage, and water residence times within particular storage reservoirs. We employ instrumental climate records alongside oxygen isotopes within tree rings and regional source waters, as well as topographic data and soil depth measurements, to infer the water sources used over several decades by two co-occurring tree species within a riparian floodplain along the Rhône River in France. We find that water partitioning to riparian trees is influenced by annual (wet versus dry years) and seasonal (spring snowmelt versus spring rainfall) fluctuations in climate. This influence depends strongly on local (tree level) conditions including floodplain surface elevation and subsurface gravel layer elevation. The latter represents the upper limit of the phreatic zone and therefore controls access to shallow groundwater. The difference between them, the thickness of the vadose zone, controls total soil moisture retention capacity. These factors thus modulate the climatic influence on tree ring isotopes. Additionally, we identified growth signatures and tree ring isotope changes associated with recent restoration of minimum streamflows in the Rhône, which made new phreatic water sources available to some trees in otherwise dry years.Key pointsWater shifts due to climatic fluctuations between floodplain storage reservoirsAnthropogenic changes to hydrology directly impact water available to treesEcohydrologic approaches to integration of hydrology afford new possibilities.

Project description:Species diversity is affected by processes operating at multiple spatial scales, although the most relevant scales that contribute to compositional variation and the temporal shifts of the involved mechanisms remain poorly explored. We studied spatial patterns of phytoplankton, rotifers and microcrustacean diversity across scales in a river floodplain system of the Danube in Austria under contrasting hydrological conditions (post-flood versus low water level).The species turnover between water sections (β2) and between wetlands (β3) was the major components of regional diversity for all studied groups, with species turnover between habitats (β1) as a minor contributor. β1 diversity and β2 diversity were lower than expected by chance in most cases, suggesting that communities are more homogeneous than expected at these scales. β3 diversity was higher than expected by chance in many cases, indicating more distinct communities at the wetland level. Patterns were highly similar under different hydrological conditions, indicating no major immediate effect of flood events.Local environmental and spatial factors were similarly important in structuring phytoplankton, rotifer and microcrustacean communities in both hydrological conditions. Relevant environmental factors were spatially structured in post-flood conditions especially between sections, suggesting flood-driven homogenisation within the wetlands. Under low water level, spatial structuring of environment decreased and pure environmental factors gained relevance for phytoplankton and rotifers.Our results suggest that although β2 diversity between water sections is a major component of regional diversity, long-term spatial processes responding to connectivity across the wetland structure phytoplankton, rotifer and microcrustacean communities. Aquatic sections within the limited spatial extent of the remaining floodplain areas appear more homogeneous than expected probably due to flood recurrence over the years.These results highlight that adequate planning of restoration and conservation strategies of floodplain wetlands should consider environmental heterogeneity together with long-term spatial processes.

Dataset Information

Contrasting controls on tree ring isotope variation for Amazon floodplain and terra firme trees.

Publications

Contrasting controls on tree ring isotope variation for Amazon floodplain and terra firme trees.

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