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Differences between stem and branch xylem water isotope composition in four tropical tree species1.92 MB
Published VersionCC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Differences between stem and branch xylem water isotope composition in four tropical tree species
Ecohydrology, Vol.16(5), pp.1-10
2023
Abstract
Stable isotope studies (δ2H and δ18O) of water within plants are providing new information on water sources, competitive interactions and water use patterns under natural conditions. This is based on the assumption that there is no fractionation at the time of water uptake or during its transport within trees. However, previous studies have found fractionation does occur in water taken up through the roots in halophytic and xerophytic plants. It is unclear how widespread such fractionation is in other species. In this study, we tested this fractionation by comparing stem and branch xylem water isotopes over the period of one day (from 8 am to 5 pm) in four wet tropical rainforest tree species (Dendrocnide photinophylla, Aphananthe philippinensis, Daphnandra repandula and Mallotus polyadenos). We found branch water isotope ratios (δ2H and δ18O) were enriched compared with stem xylem water isotopes. D. photinophylla had a significantly different branch δ18O ratio than A. philippinensis, D. repandula and M. polyadenos. In contrast, there were no significant differences in stem xylem δ18O among the four observed tree species. We found clear differences in the stable isotope ratios of δ18O for stem and branch xylem water for D. photinophylla and D. repandula of upto −0.85% and 0.50%, respectively. Remarkable δ2H differences were also found between stem and branch xylem water isotope ratios for A. philippinensis, D. repandula and M. polyadenos, being upto −12.14%, −16.17% and −9.65%, respectively. A dual isotope (δ2H–δ18O) plot showed branch water values were more enriched than stem xylem water values for D. photinophylla and D. repandula, indicating a clear difference between stem and branch xylem water. This study suggests that δ2H and δ18O fractionation could be a species-specific phenomenon in tropical trees, which has important implications for plant water source identification and evapotranspiration partitioning.
Details
- Title
- Differences between stem and branch xylem water isotope composition in four tropical tree species
- Authors
- Md. Shawkat Sohel (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research CentreJohn Herbohn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests and People Research CentreMagali F Nehemy (Author) - Trent UniversityJeffrey J McDonnell (Author) - University of Saskatchewan
- Publication details
- Ecohydrology, Vol.16(5), pp.1-10
- Publisher
- Springer Singapore
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1002/eco.2547
- ISSN
- 2522-8250; 2522-8242
- Copyright note
- © 2023 The Authors. Ecohydrology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
- Grant note
- Wet Tropics Management Authority Australian Government through an IPRS
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99717598102621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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