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δ13C difference between plants and soil organic matter along the eastern slope of Mount Gongga

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  • Geology
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of plants, litter and soil organic matter (0–5 cm, 5–10 cm and 10–20 cm) on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga were measured. The results show that δ13C values of plants, litter and soil organic matter all decrease first and then increase with altitude, i.e. δ13C values gradually decrease from 1200 to 2100 m a.s.l., and increase from 2100 to 4500 m a.s.l. The δ13C altitudinal variations are related to the distribution of C3 and C4 plants on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, because C4 plants are observed to grow only below 2100 m, while C3 plants occur at all altitudes. There are significantly positive correlations among δ13C of vegetation, δ13C of litter and δ13C of soil organic matter, and litter, 0–5 cm, 5–10 cm and 10–20 cm soil organic matter are 0.56‰, 2.87‰, 3.04‰ and 3.49‰ greater in δ13C than vegetation, respectively. Considering the influences of rising concentration of atmospheric CO2 and decreasing δ13C of atmospheric CO2 since the industry revolution on δ13C of plants, 1.57‰ is proposed to be the smallest correction value for reconstruction of paleovegetation using δ13C of soil organic matter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions, Ministry of Education, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    PengNa Chen, GuoAn Wang & XiaoJuan Liu

  2. Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    JiaMao Han

  3. College of Environmental Sciences, MOE Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China

    Min Liu

Authors
  1. PengNa Chen
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  2. GuoAn Wang
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  3. JiaMao Han
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  4. XiaoJuan Liu
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  5. Min Liu
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Correspondence to GuoAn Wang.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40673017).

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Chen, P., Wang, G., Han, J. et al. δ13C difference between plants and soil organic matter along the eastern slope of Mount Gongga. Chin. Sci. Bull. 55, 55–62 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0405-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0405-y

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