Stable isotope techniques in plant water sources:a review

The stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes widely exist in various kinds of natural water.Plants have to cope with various water sources:rainwater,soil water,groundwater,sea water,and mixtures.These are usually characterized by different isotopic signatures (18O/16O and D/H ratios).Because there are relative abundance variations in water,and plant roots do not discriminate against specific water isotopes during water uptake,hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope ratios of water within plants provide new information on water sources,interactions between plant species and water use patterns under natural conditions.At present,the measurement of δD,δ18O composition of various potential water sources and stem water has become significant means to identify plant water sources.Based on previous studies,this review highlights recent advances such as theory basis,methodology,as well as different spatial and temporal scales,and existed questions and prospects.Stable isotope techniques for estimating plant water sources have provided valuable tools for conducting basic and applied research.Future studies emphasize the modification of preparing methods,isotope technique combined with other measurements,and aerial organs of plant water source should be en-couraged.

Influences of water media on the hydrogen isotopic composition of natural gas/methane in the processes of gaseous hydrocarbon generation and evolution

The influences of water media on the hydrogen isotopic composition of organic-thermogenic natural gas were tested in three series of experiments on coal pyrolysis, with no water, deionized water （δDH2O-58‰）, and seawater （δSDn2O=-4.8‰） added, respectively. The experimental results show that the productivities of H2 and CO2 obviously increased under hydrous conditions and that the productivity of CH4 also remarkably increased in the high-evolution phase of hydrous experiments. Water was involved in the chemical reaction of hydrocarbon generation, and then the hydrogen isotopic composition of methane was affected. There is a linear correlation between the hydrogen isotopic composition of methane and its productivity, as reflected in the three series of experiments. In the case of the same CH4 productivity, the hydrogen isotopic composition of the methane produced in anhydrous experiments was the heaviest, that of the methane produced in seawater-adding experiments came second, and that of the methane produced in deionized water-adding experiments was the ligbtest. The hydrogen isotopic composition of natural gas/methane is affected by the following factors： 1） the characteristics of hydrogen isotopic composition of organic matter in source rocks, 2） the thermal evolution extent of organic matter, and 3） fossil-water media in the natural gas-generation period. The experimental results show that the influence of the fossil-water medium in the natural gas-generation period was lower than that of the other factors.

Seasonal patterns in water uptake for Medicago sativa grown along an elevation gradient with shallow groundwater table in Yanchi county of Ningxia,Northwest China

Lucerne （Medicago sativa L.） is a deep-rooted perennial leguminous forage with high evapo-transpiration rate exceeding the annual precipitation in semi-arid areas of Northwest China. Groundwater might be the potential water sources of lucerne in the area with shallow groundwater table. In this study, stable isotopic compositions of oxygen and hydrogen （6180 and 8D） of different water sources and xylem sap were analyzed to determine the seasonal （April, June, July and August） and topographic （three slope positions） variations in water sources for lucerne growing in Ningxia eastern semi-arid area adjacent to Mu Us Desert characterized by shallow groundwater table. IsoSource software was used to calculate the probable contribution of different water sources to the total plant water uptake. Stomatal conductance, stem water potential, carbon isotope discrimination （A13C） of whole plant were also determined for evaluating the water status of lucerne growing at different slope positions. The results showed that soil water content increased as the elevation decreased. Oxygen compositions of soil water in the 0-40 cm profile fluctuated considerably. Soil water 8180 values in deep profile （〉3.5 m） were similar to those in groundwater, implying the recharge of groundwater to this soil layer. Highest water utilization rate from deep soil profile （below 350 cm） was recorded for lucerne grown at the slope position 1 （groundwater table depth of 3.5-3.9 m） in April, June and July. The lucernes at slope position 2 （groundwater table depth of 5.8-6.4 m） and slope position 3 （groundwater table depth 7.1-8.3 m） mostly used water from deep soil layers （below 350 cm） during dry period, and turned to use water from superficial soil layer in wet period. Higher yield, A13C value of whole plant and stomatal conductance were observed for lucerne grown at the slope position 1 than those at other slope positions. These results indicated that groundwater is a significant water source for transpiration of lucerne grown in Ningxia semi-arid area with shallow groundwater table where lucerne grassland is suggested to be established so as to obtain better yield performance.

Water sources of plants and groundwater in typical ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Heihe River Basin

Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions （δ18O and δD） of soil water and shallow groundwater of a riparian forest, an artificial shrub forest, and Gobi of the lower reaches of the Heihe River Basin are used to study the recharge water sources of those ecosystems. IsoSource software is used to determine the δ180 values for root water of Populous euphratica and Tamarix ramosissima in the riparian forest ecosystem, Haloxylon ammodendron in the artificial shrub forest, and Reaumuria soongorica in the Gobi, as well as for local soil water and groundwater, and precipitation in the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin. Our results showed that soil water and shallow groundwater of the riparian forest and the artificial shrub forest were recharged by river water which originated from precipitation in the upper reaches, and strong evaporation occurred in the artificial shrub forest. Soil water of the Gobi was not affected by Heihe River water due to this area being far away from the river channel. The main water sources of Populous euphratica were from 40-60-cm soil water and groundwater, and of Tamarix ramosissima were from 40-80-cm soil water in the riparian forest ecosystem. In the artificial forest, Haloxylon ammodendron used 200-cm saturated-layer soil water and shallow groundwater. The Reaumuria soongorica mainly used soil water from the 175-200-cm depth in the Gobi. Therefore, soil water and groundwater are the main water sources which maintain survival and growth of the plants in the extremely arid regions of the lower reaches of the Heihe River Basin.

Insights into the provenance implication of leaf wax n-alkanes along the lower Yellow River

Serving as one of the largest rivers in terms of both sediment and organic carbon transport fluxes in the world,the Yellow River plays a crucial role in regional biogeochemical process as well as in the global carbon cycle.However,although a large number of studies have been carried out on the flux,composition,source and seasonal variation of total particulate organic carbon in the Yellow River so far,studies on molecular biomarkers at different spatial and temporal scales are still scarce.In this study,we focus on the molecular and hydrogen isotopic properties of leaf wax n-alkanes among different types of samples which obtained from different seasons(flood vs.non-flood)along the lower Yellow River.The molecular distribution of n-alkanes show that the riparian topsoils are subject to inputs from the overlying vegetation,while the suspended sediments from the flood season are characterized by the mixing of soil materials which originate from various stratigraphy with different ages on the Chinese Loess Plateau.Due to the contrasting hydrodynamic conditions,the n-alkanes in suspended sediments also show distinct molecular composition between flood and non-flood seasons.Additionally,considering the effect of climatic factors,the proportion of monocots in flood-season suspended sediments is calculated from a semi-quantitative perspective using δ^(2)H_(wax).Our findings may bring to light new considerations for the interpretation of leaf wax proxies in studies of organic matter sources of Yellow River.

Compound-specific δD and its hydrological and environmental implication in the lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

The hydrogen isotopic composition(δD) of n-alkanes in lacustrine sediments is widely used in palaeoenvironmental studies, but the heterogeneous origins and relative contributions of these lipids provide challenges for the interpretation of the increasing dataset as an environment and climatic proxy. We systematically investigated n-alkane δD values from 51 submerged plants(39 Potamogeton, 1 Myriophyllum, and 11 Ruppia), 13 algae(5 Chara, 3 Cladophora, and 5 Spirogyra) and 20 terrestrial plants(10 grasses and 10 shrubs) in and around 15 lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results demonstrate that δD values of C_(29) nalkane are correlated significantly with the lake water δD values both for algae(R^2=0.85, p<0.01, n=9) and submerged plants(R^2=0.90, p<0.01, n=25), indicating that δD values of these algae and submerged plants reflect the δD variation of lake water. We find that apparent hydrogen isotope fractionation factors between individual n-alkanes and water(εa/w) are not constant among different algae and submerged plants, as well as in a single genus under different liminological conditions, indicating that the biosynthesis or environmental conditions(e.g. salinity) may affect their δD values. The δD values of submerged plant Ruppia in the Xiligou Lake(a closed lake) are significant enriched in D than those of terrestrial grasses around the lake(one-way ANOVA,p<0.01), but the algae Chara in the Keluke Lake(an open lake) display similar δD values with grasses around the lake(one-way ANOVA, p=0.826>0.05), suggesting that the n-alkane δD values of the algae and submerged plants record the signal of D enrichment in lake water relative to precipitation only in closed lakes in arid and semi-arid area. For each algae and submerged plant sample, we find uniformed δD values of different chain length n-alkanes, implying that, in combination with other proxies such as Paq and Average Chain Length, the offset between the δD values of different chain length n-alkanes can help determine the source of sedimentary n-alkanes as well as inferring the hydrological characteristics of an ancient lake basin(open vs closed lake).