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Hydrologic linkages between a climate oscillation, river flows, growth, and wood Δ 13 C of male and female cottonwood trees
Author(s) -
ROOD STEWART B.,
BALL DEBORAH J.,
GILL KAREN M.,
KALUTHOTA SOBADINI,
LETTS MATTHEW G.,
PEARCE DAVID W.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1111/pce.12031
Subject(s) - floodplain , riparian zone , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , riparian forest , groundwater , streamflow , ecology , geography , geology , drainage basin , biology , geotechnical engineering , cartography , habitat
In dry regions around the Northern Hemisphere cottonwoods, or riparian poplars, provide the foundation for environmentally rich floodplain forests. In this study we demonstrated the hydrological linkages extending from headwater mountain water sources, to prairie river flows, and then to floodplain groundwater. We further found that in narrowleaf cottonwoods ( Populus angustifolia ), trunk growth and wood δ 13 C patterns were strongly coordinated with river flows over a two‐decade period with high‐ versus low‐flow intervals. We also observed sex differentiation, as the males apparently displayed more conservative growth and more efficient water use during a drought interval, and this could increase their drought adaptation.