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Isoscapes pp 51–70Cite as

Remote Sensing of Nitrogen and Carbon Isotope Compositions in Terrestrial Ecosystems

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Abstract

Stable isotopes have been frequently used to indicate processes occurring in soils, plants, and the atmosphere at scales from individual organisms to an entire ecosystem. Remote sensing, on the other hand, is a powerful tool used to identify ecosystem patterns and processes at larger scales. A union of these two approaches would hold promise for spatially continuous estimates of isotope compositions, thus providing unprecedented information into the patterns and processes within the Earth’s ecosystems. To date, however, the combination of isotope and remote sensing techniques is still in the exploratory stage. Here, two examples, one utilizing high spectral resolution remote sensing and the other employing high spatial resolution remote sensing, are suggested as possible approaches for the integration of stable isotope and remote sensing techniques. First, the feasibility of using high-resolution spectral data to estimate the vegetation δ15N from leaf to canopy levels is tested. Experimental results have shown that there is a strong correlation between foliar δ15N and spectral reflectance (R) in certain visible and near-infrared wavelengths. Stepwise regression indicates that the first-difference of the log 1/R explains 76–92% of the variation in foliar δ15N, providing the most reliable correlations in bands near 600 and 700 nm. Second, if the vegetation-soil δ13C relationship can be quantified on ground, soil δ13C distribution can be estimated by high-resolution satellite. Although limitations exist, because of the non-destructive and continuous nature, remote sensing is a promising tool to expand measurements of terrestrial δ15N and δ13C spatial patterns and dynamics.

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Acknowledgements

The project was supported by NASA-IDS2 (NNG-04-GM71G) and a research fund from the Blandy Experimental Farm of University of Virginia. We are grateful for field assistance and earlier contributions from Paolo D’Odorico, Kelly Caylor, Howie Epstein and Jin Wang. We thank Dr. Linda Pardo from USDA Forest Service for providing raw data of her published work. Lixin Wang thanks Dr. Gengsuo Jia and Dr. Domingo Alcaraz for the technical support of ENVI. The clarity of this chapter greatly benefited from the comments provided by Dr. Brenden E. McNeil and one anonymous reviewer. This manuscript is based in part on IR/D support by the National Science Foundation, to SAM while working at the Foundation. Any opinion, finding, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, 291 McCormick Road, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, USA

    Lixin Wang & Stephen A. Macko

  2. Department of Geography, University of California, 1255 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Gregory S. Okin

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08544, USA

    Lixin Wang

  4. Program in Geobiology and Low Temperature Geochemistry, U. S. National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, 22230, USA

    Stephen A. Macko

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  1. Lixin Wang
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Correspondence to Lixin Wang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Texas A&M University System, Garner Field Rd. 1619, Uvalde, 78801, U.S.A.

    Jason B. West

  2. Dept. Earth & Atmospheric Science, Purdue University, Stadium Mall Drive 550, West Lafayette, 47907-2051, U.S.A.

    Gabriel J. Bowen

  3. Dept. Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, U.S.A.

    Todd E. Dawson

  4. Dept. Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, 94720, U.S.A.

    Kevin P. Tu

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Wang, L., Okin, G.S., Macko, S.A. (2010). Remote Sensing of Nitrogen and Carbon Isotope Compositions in Terrestrial Ecosystems. In: West, J., Bowen, G., Dawson, T., Tu, K. (eds) Isoscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3354-3_3

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