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Soil water vapour isotopes identify missing water source for streamside trees

Journal Article · · Ecohydrology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.2083· OSTI ID:1559914
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
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In a seminal study, Dawson and Ehleringer used deuterium measurements on water to show that boxelder (Acer negundo) and bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum) trees growing directly next to a perennial stream in a mountain meadow did not use the stream water for transpiration, nor could they identify any other potential water source. Since then, similar observations of plant water isotopic signatures that do not match any available water source have been reported from a range of ecosystems worldwide. Here, we use a combination of non–destructive in situ isotopic soil water sampling along with destructive soil sampling and cryogenic water extraction to demonstrate that isotopically distinct water pools can be identified in soils at the same site as the 1991 study during parts of the summer growing season. Water extracted from xylem tissues shows that streamside boxelder and bigtooth maple at the sites were predominantly using soil water with an isotopic composition similar to that measured by the in situ soil measurement technique. Here, we introduce the use of water vapour probes that were directly attached to intact tree roots in situ to measure the isotopic composition of root xylem water and how it varies through the growing season and evaluate their potential and utility.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1559914
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL--755217; 942033
Journal Information:
Ecohydrology, Journal Name: Ecohydrology Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 12; ISSN 1936-0584
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (10)

Spatiotemporal variability in water sources of urban soils and trees in the semiarid, irrigated Salt Lake Valley journal October 2019
Vegetation source water identification using isotopic and hydrometric observations from a subhumid mountain catchment journal November 2019
Depth distribution of soil water sourced by plants at the global scale: A new direct inference approach journal January 2020
Spatio‐temporal heterogeneity in soil water stable isotopic composition and its ecohydrologic implications in semiarid ecosystems journal April 2019
Calibration method affects the measured δ 2 H and δ 18 O in soil water by direct H 2 O liquid –H 2 O vapour equilibration with laser spectroscopy journal November 2019
Bound and mobile soil water isotope ratios are affected by soil texture and mineralogy, whereas extraction method influences their measurement journal December 2019
Possible Increases in Flood Frequency Due to the Loss of Eastern Hemlock in the Northeastern United States: Observational Insights and Predicted Impacts journal July 2019
Seasonal and Topographic Variations in Ecohydrological Separation Within a Small, Temperate, Snow‐Influenced Catchment journal August 2019
Unexplained hydrogen isotope offsets complicate the identification and quantification of tree water sources in a riparian forest journal January 2019
Technical Note: A global database of the stable isotopic ratios of meteoric and terrestrial waters journal January 2019

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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
58 GEOSCIENCES
critical zone
ecohydrologic separation
isotope hydrology
plant water use
pore water
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