Spatial patterns of leaf δ13C and δ15N of aquatic macrophytes in the arid zone of northwestern China

Ecology and Evolution

Zhongqiang Li¹  Xusheng Gong¹  Zhiyan Xu¹  Yuqing Tian¹  Qiutong Peng¹  Yang Hu²  Tao Hao³ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Development and Environmental Response Faculty of Resource and Environment Hubei University Wuhan China;Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem Research State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing China;Wildlife Conservation Chief Station of Hubei Province Wuhan China;

关键词: aquatic macrophytes;    arid zone;    climate and environmental factors;    patterns;    stable isotope composition;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.7257

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Analysis of stable isotope composition is an important tool in research on plant physiological ecology. However, large‐scale patterns of leaf‐stable isotopes for aquatic macrophytes have received considerably less attention. In this study, we examined the spatial pattern of stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) of macrophytes leaves collected across the arid zone of northwestern China (approximately 2.4 × 106 km2) and attempted to illustrate its relationship with environmental factors (i.e., temperature, precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, sediment total carbon and nitrogen). Our results showed that the mean values of the leaf δ13C and δ15N in the macrophytes sampled from the arid zone were −24.49‰ and 6.82‰, respectively, which were far less depleted than those measured of terrestrial plants. The order of averaged leaf δ13C from different life forms was as follows: submerged > floating‐leaved > emergent. Additionally, our studies indicated that the values of foliar δ13C values of all the aquatic macrophytes were only negatively associated with precipitation, but the foliar δ15N values were mainly associated with temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration. Therefore, we speculated that water‐relation factors are the leaf δ13C determinant of macrophytes in the arid zone of northwestern China, and the main factors affecting leaf δ15N values are the complex combination of water and energy factors.

【 授权许可】

Unknown