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Application of stable isotope techniques in studies of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem

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Abstract

Stable isotope techniques have been proved useful as tools for studying the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem. This paper firstly introduced the basic principles and the distribution characteristics of stable isotope, then reviewed the recent advances and applications of stable isotope in the C and N biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem. By applying the 13C natural abundance technique, ecologists are able to understand the photosynthetic path and CO2 fixation of plants, the CO2 exchange and C balance status of ecosystem, the composition, distribution and turnover of soil organic C and the sources of organic matter in food webs, while by using the 13C labeled technique, the effects of elevated CO2 on the C processes of ecosystem and the sources and fate of organic matter in ecosystem can be revealed in detail. Differently, by applying the 15N natural abundance technique, ecologists are able to analyze the biological N2-fixation, the N sources of ecosystem, the N transformation processes of ecosystem and the N trophic status in food webs, while by using the 15N labeled technique, the sources, transformation and fate of N in ecosystem and the effects of N input on the ecosystem can be investigated in depth. The applications of both C and N isotope natural abundance and labeled techniques, combined with the elemental, other isotope (34S) and molecular biomarker information, will be more propitious to the investigation of C and N cycle mechanisms. Finally, this paper concluded the problems existed in current researches, and put forward the perspective of stable isotope techniques in the studies on C and N biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment Processes of Chinese Academy of Sciences Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, China

    Zhigao Sun, Xiaojie Mou, Lingling Wang, Hongli Song & Huanhuan Jiang

  2. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, 130012, China

    Xiaojie Mou

  3. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiaojie Mou, Lingling Wang, Hongli Song & Huanhuan Jiang

  4. Shandong Institute of Agriculture Sustainable Development, Jinan, 250100, China

    Xinhua Li

Authors
  1. Zhigao Sun
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  2. Xiaojie Mou
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  3. Xinhua Li
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  4. Lingling Wang
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  5. Hongli Song
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  6. Huanhuan Jiang
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Correspondence to Zhigao Sun.

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Foundation item: Under the auspices of Knowledge Innovation Programs of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-223), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40803023), Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (No. ZR2010DZ001), Talents Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. AJ0809BX-036)

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Sun, Z., Mou, X., Li, X. et al. Application of stable isotope techniques in studies of carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles of ecosystem. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 21, 129–148 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-011-0453-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-011-0453-5

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