Premium
Carbon isotopes in terrestrial ecosystem pools and CO 2 fluxes
Author(s) -
Bowling David R.,
Pataki Diane E.,
Randerson James T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02342.x
Subject(s) - ecosystem , carbon cycle , biogeochemical cycle , terrestrial ecosystem , plant litter , biosphere , photosynthesis , environmental science , respiration , carbon dioxide , ecosystem respiration , isotopes of carbon , soil respiration , carbon fibers , carbon dioxide in earth's atmosphere , environmental chemistry , ecology , primary production , chemistry , biology , botany , total organic carbon , materials science , composite number , composite material
Summary Stable carbon isotopes are used extensively to examine physiological, ecological, and biogeochemical processes related to ecosystem, regional, and global carbon cycles and provide information at a variety of temporal and spatial scales. Much is known about the processes that regulate the carbon isotopic composition (δ 13 C) of leaf, plant, and ecosystem carbon pools and of photosynthetic and respiratory carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) fluxes. In this review, systematic patterns and mechanisms underlying variation in δ 13 C of plant and ecosystem carbon pools and fluxes are described. We examine the hypothesis that the δ 13 C of leaf biomass can be used as a reference point for other carbon pools and fluxes, which differ from the leaf in δ 13 C in a systematic fashion. Plant organs are typically enriched in 13 C relative to leaves, and most ecosystem pools and respiratory fluxes are enriched relative to sun leaves of dominant plants, with the notable exception of root respiration. Analysis of the chemical and isotopic composition of leaves and leaf respiration suggests that growth respiration has the potential to contribute substantially to the observed offset between the δ 13 C values of ecosystem respiration and the bulk leaf. We discuss the implications of systematic variations in δ 13 C of ecosystem pools and CO 2 fluxes for studies of carbon cycling within ecosystems, as well as for studies that use the δ 13 C of atmospheric CO 2 to diagnose changes in the terrestrial biosphere over annual to millennial time scales.ContentsSummary 1I. Introduction 2II. Isotopic composition of plant metabolites and autotrophic respiration 3III. Isotopic composition of plant and ecosystem carbon pools 8IV. Isotopic composition of assimilation and respiration fluxes 9V. Ecosystem to global scale issues – isotopic composition of gross primary production, net primary production, and net ecosystem production 11VI. Conclusions and suggestions for further research 12Acknowledgements 13References 13