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Correlations Between Foliar Stable Carbon Isotope Composition and Environmental Factors in Desert Plant Reaumuria soongorica (Pall.) Maxim.
Author(s) -
MA JianYing,
CHEN Tuo,
QIANG WeiYa,
WANG Gang
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of integrative plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.734
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1744-7909
pISSN - 1672-9072
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2005.00129.x
Subject(s) - δ13c , precipitation , isotopes of carbon , stable isotope ratio , relative humidity , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , total organic carbon , environmental chemistry , chemistry , geography , geology , physics , quantum mechanics , meteorology
Leaves of 407 individuals of Reaumuria soongorica (Pall.) Maxim. collected from the major distribution areas were measured to investigate the distribution characteristics of the stable carbon isotope in this desert plant, as well as correlations between δ 13 C values and environmental factors. Results showed that δ 13 C values in R. soongorica ranged from–22.77%o to–29.85%o and that the mean δ 13 C value (–26.52%o) was higher than a previously reported δ 13 C value for a different desert ecosystem. This indicates that R. soongorica belongs to the C 3 photosynthetic pathway and has higher water use efficiency than other species. The correlations between δ 13 C values and environmental factors demonstrated that the foliar δ 13 C values in R. soongorica increased significantly with decreasing mean annual precipitation and mean relative humidity, and decreased with decreasing duration of sunshine and evaporation. The spatial distribution trend of δ 13 C values in R. soongorica was not obvious and there was no significant correlation between the δ 13 C values and mean annual temperature. We conclude that different distribution trends in δ 13 C values for R. soongorica were likely caused by stomatal limitation rather than by nutrient‐related changes in photo‐synthetic efficiency and that precipitation played an important role in the wide distribution range of R. soongorica. This pattern of δ 13 C values for R. soongorica reinforced that it is a super‐xerophil in terms of its adaptive strategies to a desert environment. (Managing editor: Ya‐Qin HAN)