Tropical forest water source patterns revealed by stable isotopes: A preliminary analysis of 46 neighboring species

Md. Shawkat Sohel; Adriana Vega Grau; Jeffrey J McDonnell; John Herbohn

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119355

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Tropical forest water source patterns revealed by stable isotopes: A preliminary analysis of 46 neighboring species

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Tropical forest water source patterns revealed by stable isotopes: A preliminary analysis of 46 neighboring species

Md. Shawkat Sohel, Adriana Vega Grau, Jeffrey J McDonnell and John Herbohn

Forest Ecology and Management, Vol.494(119355), pp.1-14

2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119355

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Abstract

Ecohydrological separation

Niche segregation

Bayesian mixing model

Dual isotope

Tree water uptake depth

Soil water partitioning

Rainforest tree species

Stable isotope tracing of plant water use can illuminate plant water sources. But to date, the number of species tested at any given site has been minimal. Here, we sample 46 tropical hardwood tree species in a 0.32 ha plot with uniform soils. Soil water was characterized at 6 depths at 0.2 m intervals down to 1 m and showed simple and predictable depth patterns of δ2H and δ18O, and simple and spatially uniform isotope composition at each depth. Nevertheless, tree xylem water δ2H and δ18O showed remarkable variation covering the full range of soil composition, suggesting strong sorting and niche segregation across the small plot. Wood density, tree size and mean basal area increment together explained approximately 55% of the variance of xylem water isotope composition through principal component analysis. A Bayesian mixing model was applied to the data and showed that sampled trees were either sourcing their water from very shallow or deep soil layers, with very little contribution from the middle portion of the soil profile. The majority of the observed species relied on 0.0–0.2 m depth soil water. This layer contributed approximately 75% of the xylem water which was significantly higher than the contributions from all other depths. The contribution from shallow soil was highest for trees with high wood density, slow-growing trees and small-sized trees. Our work suggests that stable isotope tracers may aid a better understanding of tropical forest water uptake depths and their relation to tree functional traits and potential hydrological niche segregation among co-occurring tropical species.

Details

Title: Tropical forest water source patterns revealed by stable isotopes: A preliminary analysis of 46 neighboring species
Authors: Md. Shawkat Sohel (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Adriana Vega Grau (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Jeffrey J McDonnell (Author) - University of Saskatchewan
John Herbohn (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Tropical Forests & People Research Centre
Publication details: Forest Ecology and Management, Vol.494(119355), pp.1-14
Publisher: Elsevier BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119355
ISSN: 1872-7042
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests & People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99534607102621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Forestry

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