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Stable oxygen isotopes reveal distinct water use patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert

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Abstract

Aims

Haloxylon ammodendron and Haloxylon persicum are the dominant species in the Gurbantonggut Desert, China, with the former grows at inter-dune lowland and the later grows at the sand dune. This study aims to investigate the dynamics of water usage of the two species and their responses to the soil water fluctuations resulting from summer precipitation.

Methods

Oxygen isotope ratios (δ 18O) were measured for xylem water, soil water in different soil layers (0–300 cm), precipitation water and groundwater. Four potential water sources were identified: shallow (0–40 cm), middle (40–100 cm) and deep soil water (100–300 cm), as well as groundwater. The water sources used by the two species were calculated using the IsoSource model.

Results

When the upper soil water was abundant in early spring, H. ammodendron mainly used shallow soil water while H. persicum mainly used middle soil water; when the upper soil water was depleted in summer, H. ammodendron mainly used groundwater while H. persicum mainly used deep soil water. Both species were conservative in using shallow soil water following the relatively large summer precipitations.

Conclusions

The two Haloxylon species had distinct water use patterns during the growing season, which reflects their adaptations to their specific habitats in this water-limited desert environment. Large precipitations in dry summer hardly altered their water use patterns, which mean that these species are rather conservative in water use strategy.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41371079, 41171049). We thank all staff of the Fukang Station of Desert Ecology for their excellent field and laboratory assistance; special thanks to Dan-dan Yu for her providing the root data of H. persicum; thanks also to Gui-qing Xu, Jiang-bo Xie, Yu Wu, Jie Ma and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments that greatly improved this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Lab of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 818 South Beijing Road, Urumqi, Xinjiang, 830011, China

    Yue Dai, Xin-Jun Zheng, Li-Song Tang & Yan Li

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yue Dai

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  1. Yue Dai
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  2. Xin-Jun Zheng
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  4. Yan Li
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Correspondence to Yan Li.

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Responsible Editor: Rafael S. Oliveira.

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Dai, Y., Zheng, XJ., Tang, LS. et al. Stable oxygen isotopes reveal distinct water use patterns of two Haloxylon species in the Gurbantonggut Desert. Plant Soil 389, 73–87 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-014-2342-z

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