Abstract
Understanding the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope composition and characteristics of different water bodies in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum is of significance for revealing regional hydrological processes and water cycle mechanisms. In this study, we analyzed the stable isotopic composition, relationship and indicative significance of precipitation, soil water (0∼l00 cm depth) and xylem water of Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) forest in the eastern Qilian Mountains, and explored the circulation process among different water bodies. The results show that the stable isotopes of precipitation vary greatly during the entire observation period. The values of δ2H and δ18O in the precipitation in the warm season are richer than those in the cold season, and the slope and intercept of local meteoric water line (LMWL, δ2H = 6.79δ18O+7.13) are both smaller than global meteoric water line (GMWL, δ2H=8.17δ18O+10.56). The stable isotopes of soil water at different depths underwent different degrees of evaporative fractionation, and the δ18O and δ2H of shallow soil water varied greatly, while the deep soil water tended to be similar. The topsoil (0∼10 cm) can respond quickly to precipitation, and the response of the deep soil has a time lag. In the whole growing season, 0∼30 cm and 60∼100 cm soil water are the main water sources of Qinghai spruce. The water source of Qinghai spruce was from all soil layers in May and September, mainly from the shallow soil layer (0∼30 cm) in August and October, and mainly from the deep soil layer (60∼100 cm) in June and July.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barbeta A, Mejía CM, Ogaya R, et al. (2015) The combined effects of a long-term experimental drought and an extreme drought on the use of plant-water sources in a Mediterranean forest. Glob Change Biol 21(3): 1213–1225. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12785
Barnes CJ, Allison GB (1988) Tracing of water movement in the unsaturated zone using stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen. J. Hydrol 100(1): 143–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(88)90184-9
Benettin P, Volkmann TH, Freyberg J, et al. (2018) Effects of climatic seasonality on the isotopic composition of evaporating soil waters. Hydrol. Earth Syst Sci 22(5): 2881–2890. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2881-2018
Brunel JP, Walker GR, Kennett-Smith AK (1995) Field validation of isotopic procedures for determining sources of water used by plants in a semi-arid environment. J Hydrol 167(1): 351–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(94)02575-V
Burgess SSO, Adams MA, Turner NC, et al. (2000) Characterisation of hydrogen isotope profiles in an agroforestry system: implications for tracing water sources of trees. Agric. Water Manag 45(3): 229–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3774(00)00105-0
Chen HS, Hu K, Nie YP (2017) Analysis of soil water movement inside a footslope and a depression in a karst catchment. Sci. Rep 7: 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02619-x
Craig H (1961) Isotopic variations in meteoric waters. Sci 133(3465): 1702–1703. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.133.3465.1702
Dai JJ, Zhang XP, Luo ZD, et al. (2020) Variation of the stable isotopes of water in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum of a Cinnamomum camphora woodland in the East Asian monsoon region. J. Hydrol 589: 125199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125199
Dawson TE, Mambelli S Plamboeck AH, et al. (2002) Stable isotopes in plant ecology. Annu Rev Ecol S 33: 507–559. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.020602.095451
Eggemeyer KD, Awada T, Harvey, FE, et al. (2009) Seasonal changes in depth of water uptake for encroaching trees Juniperus virginiana and Pinus ponderosa and two dominant C4 grasses in a semiarid grassland. Tree Physiol 29(2): 157–169. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpn019
Ellsworth PZ, Williams DG (2007) Hydrogen isotope fractionation during water uptake by woody xerophytes. Plant Soil 291(1): 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-006-9177-1
Gazis C, Feng XH (2004) A stable isotope study of soil water: evidence for mixing and preferential flow paths. Geoderma 119(1): 97–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7061(03)00243-X
Gierke C, Newton BT, Phillips FM (2016) Soil-water dynamics and tree water uptake in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico (USA): a stable isotope study. Hydrogeol J 24(4): 805–818. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-016-1403-1
Guo F, Ma JJ, Zheng LJ, et al. (2016) Estimating distribution of water uptake with depth of winter wheat by hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes under different irrigation depths. J Integr Agr 15(4): 891–906. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2095-3119(15)61258-8
Hasselquist NJ, Benegas L, Roupsard O, et al. (2018) Canopy cover effects on local soil water dynamics in a tropical agroforestry system: evaporation drives soil water isotopic enrichment. Hydrol Process 32(8): 994–1004. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.11482
Hervé-fernández P, Oyarzún C, Brumbt C, et al. (2016) Assessing the ‘two water worlds’ hypothesis and water sources for native and exotic evergreen species in south-central Chile. Hydrol Process 30(23): 4227–4241. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10984
Jasechko S, Sharp ZD, Gibson JJ, et al. (2013) Terrestrial water fluxes dominated by transpiration. Nature 496: 347–350. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11983
Jia ZQ, Song GP, Li QH et al. (1997) Study on Soil Moisture Dynamic Variation Law of Typical Watershed in the Southern Mountainous Area of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. J. Beijing For. Univ. (Chin. Ed.) 19(3): 15–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02951625
Landwehr JM, Coplen TB, Stewart DW (2014) Spatial, seasonal, and source variability in the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of tap waters throughout the USA. Hydrol Process 28(21): 5382–5422. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.10004
Lei ZD, Hu HP, Yang SX (1999) A review of soil water research. Adv Water Sci 10(3): 311–318. https://doi.org/CNKI:SUN:SKXJ.0.1999-03-014
Li L, Tang CY, Cao YJ (2020) Hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope characteristics of water in SPAC system of evergreen broadleaved forest in subtropical region. Chin J Appl Ecol 31(9): 2875–2884. https://doi.org/10.13287/j.1001-9332.202009.017
Ma XJ, Jin JJ, Si BC, et al. (2019) Effects of extraction methods on soil water isotope and plant water source segmentation. Chin. J Appl Ecol 30(6): 1840–1846. https://doi.org/10.13287/j.1001-9332.201906.013
Meinzer FC, Goldstein G, Andrade JL (2001) Regulation of water flux through tropical forest canopy trees: do universal rules apply?. Tree Physiol 21(1): 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/21.1.19
Nie YP, Chen HS, Wang KL, et al. (2012) Water source utilization by woody plants growing on dolomite outcrops and nearby soils during dry seasons in karst region of Southwest China. J Hydrol 420–421: 264–274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.12.011
Pan YX, Wang XP, Ma XZ, et al. (2020) The stable isotopic composition variation characteristics of desert plants and water sources in an artificial revegetation ecosystem in Northwest China. Catena 189: 104499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2020.104499
Phillips D, Gregg JW (2003) Source partitioning using stable isotopes: coping with too many sources. Oecologia 136(2): 261–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1218-3
Rong L, Chen X, Chen XH, et al. (2011) Isotopic analysis of water sources of mountainous plant uptake in a karst plateau of southwest China. Hydrol Process 25(23): 3666–3675. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8093
Shou WK, Hu FL, Alamusa, et al. (2013) Methods for studying water cycle and water sources in arid regions based on SPAC system. Chin J Ecol 32(8): 2194–2202. https://doi.org/10.13292/j.1000-4890.2013.0422
Song XF, Wang SQ, Xiao GQ, et al. (2009) A study of soil water movement com-bining soil water potential with stable isotopes at two sites of shallow groundwater areas in the North China Plain. Hydrol Process 23(9): 1376–1388. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7267
Sprenger M, Seeger S, Blume T, et al. (2016) Travel times in the vadose zone: Variability in space and time. Water Resour Res 52(8): 5727–5754. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018077
Sprenger M, Seeger S, Blume T, et al. (2016) Travel times in the vadose zone: Variability in space and time. Water Resour Res 52(8): 5727–5754. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018077
Sprenger M, Tetzlaff D, Buttle J, et al. (2018) Storage, mixing, and fluxes of water in the critical zone across northern environments inferred by stable isotopes of soil water. Hydrol Process 32(12): 1720–1737. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.13135
Wang SY, Wang QL, Wu JK, et al. (2019) Characteristics of stable isotopes in precipitation and moisture sources in the headwaters of the Yangtze River. Environ Sci 40(6): 2615–2623. https://doi.org/10.13227/j.hjkx.201811140.
Williams AE (1997) Stable isotope tracers: natural and anthropogenic recharge, Orange County, California. J Hydrol 201(1): 230–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(97)00042-5
Wu HW, Li J, Zhang CC, et al. (2018) Determining root water uptake of two alpine crops in a rainfed cropland in the Qinghai Lake watershed: First assessment using stable isotopes analysis. Field Crop Res 215: 113–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2017.10.011
Wu HW, Li XY, Jiang ZY, et al. (2016a) Contrasting water use pattern of introduced and native plants in an alpine desert ecosystem, Northeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Sci Total Environ 542: 182–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.10.121
Wu HW, Li XY, Li J, et al. (2016b) Differential soil moisture pulse uptake by coexisting plants in an alpine Achnatherum splendens grassland community. Environ Earth Sci 75(10): 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5694-2
Xiao DA, Wang SJ (2009) Comments on the progress and direction in soil water research. J Ecol Environ 18(3): 1182–1188. https://doi.org/10.16258/j.cnki.1674-5906.2009.03.054
Yang YG, Fu BJ (2017) Soil water migration in the unsaturated zone of semiarid region in China from isotope evidence. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 21(3): 1757–1767. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-1757-2017
Zhao CM, Chen LT, Ma F, et al. (2008) Altitudinal differences in the leaf fitness of juvenile and mature alpine spruce trees (Picea crassifolia). Tree Physiol 28(1): 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/28.1.133
Zheng WB, Wang SQ, Sprenger M, et al. (2019) Response of soil water movement and groundwater recharge to extreme precipitation in a headwater catchment in the North China Plain. J Hydrol 576: 466–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.06.071
Zhou JJ, Huang MH, Lei L, et al. (2020) Variation characteristics of stable isotopes of precipitation and water vapor sources in the monsoon margin region: a case study of Binggou River Basin in Qilian Mountains. Pol j environ stud 29(4): 2955–2967. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/111876
Zhou JJ, Zhao YR, Huang Peng, et al. (2020) Impacts of ecological restoration projects on the ecosystem carbom storage of inland river basin in arid area, China. Ecol indic 118: 106803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106803
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41761047, 41861040 and 41861034). We would like to thank our colleagues in the Northwest Normal University for their help in writing process. We are very grateful to anonymous reviewers and editors for their constructive comments, understanding and supports for our research.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhou, Jj., Wang, X., Ma, L. et al. Variation of soil-plant-atmosphere continuum stable isotope and water source in Qinghai spruce forest of the eastern Qilian Mountains. J. Mt. Sci. 20, 355–366 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7665-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7665-2