Radon as a natural tracer of gas transport through trees

Megonigal, J. Patrick; Brewer, Paul E.; Knee, Karen L.

doi:10.1111/nph.16292

Title: Radon as a natural tracer of gas transport through trees

Journal Article · 15 November 2019 · New Phytologist

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.16292 · OSTI ID:1592494

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Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater MD 20754 USA
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Edgewater MD 20754 USA, Department of Environmental Science American University Washington DC 20016 USA

Summary Trees are sources, sinks, and conduits for gas exchange between the atmosphere and soil, and effectively link these terrestrial realms in a soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. We demonstrated that naturally produced radon‐222 ( ²²² Rn) gas has the potential to disentangle the biotic and physical processes that regulate gas transfer between soils or plants and the atmosphere in field settings where exogenous tracer applications are challenging. Patterns in stem radon emissions across tree species, seasons, and diurnal periods suggest that plant transport of soil gases is controlled by plant hydraulics, whether by diffusion or mass flow via transpiration. We establish for the first time that trees emit soil gases during the night when transpiration rates are negligible, suggesting that axial diffusion is an important and understudied mechanism of plant and soil gas transmission.

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0008165; 89233024SNR000129

OSTI ID:: 1592494

Journal Information:: New Phytologist, Journal Name: New Phytologist Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 225; ISSN 0028-646X

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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