Effect of floods on the δ 13 C values in plant leaves: a study of willows in Northeastern Siberia

PeerJ

article

Rong Fan¹  Tomoki Morozumi¹  Trofim C. Maximov²  Atsuko Sugimoto³ 

[1]Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University

[2]Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Blanch of Russian Academy of Sciences

[3]North Eastern Federal University

[4]Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University

[5]Global Station for Arctic Research, Global Institution for Collaborative Research and Education, Hokkaido University

[6]Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University

关键词: Siberia;    Stable carbon isotope;    Willows;    River lowland;    Photosynthesis;    Waterlogging;    Flooding;    Stomatal regulation;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.5374

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Although stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of plants has been widely used to indicate different water regimes in terrestrial ecosystems over the past four decades, the changes in the plant δ13C 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 δ13C changes in plants under different water conditions (including waterlogging), we measured the δ13C 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 δ13C 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 δ13C values decrease from dry (far from a river) to wet (along a river bank) areas; (ii) the δ13C values increase in frequently waterlogged areas owing to stomatal closure; and (iii) after prolonged flooding periods, the δ13C 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 δ13C values are strongly influenced by plant physiological responses to diverse hydrological conditions, particularly the long periods of flooding, as occurs in Arctic regions.

【 授权许可】

CC BY