EGU2020-11289
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11289
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Tracing plant water fluxes in ecosystems by stable isotopes along the soil-plant and plant-atmosphere interfaces

Christiane Werner
Christiane Werner
  • Freiburg, Faculty of Enviroment and natural resources, Ecosystem Physiology, Freiburg, Germany (c.werner@cep.uni-freiburg.de)

Terrestrial vegetation is a main driver of ecosystem water fluxes, as plants mediate the water fluxes within the soil-vegetation-atmosphere continuum. Stable isotopologues of water are efficient tracer to follow the water transfer in soils, uptake by plants, transport in stems and release into the atmosphere through stomata. The development of in-situ methods coupled to isotope spectroscopy does now enable real-time in-situ water vapour isotopologue measurements revealing high spatial and temporal dynamics, such as adaptations in root water uptake depths (within hours to days) or the impact of transpirational fluxes on atmospheric moisture.

Examples will be given how isotopes can be used to inform the complex interplay between plant ecophysiological adaptations and hydrological processes. For example, root water uptake is not solely driven by soil water availability but has to be understood in the context of species-specific regulation of active zones in their rooting system determining the conductivity between soil and roots regulating uptake depths. The latter has also to be evaluated in context of the nutrient demand and the spatial nutrient availability. Similarly, plant water transport and losses are a fined tuned interplay between species-specific structural and functional adaptations and atmospheric processes.

Finally, first data of a large-scale ecosystem labelling experiment at the Biosphere 2 tropical rainforest of the B2 Wald, Atmosphere, and Live Dynamics (B2WALD) will be presented.

How to cite: Werner, C.: Tracing plant water fluxes in ecosystems by stable isotopes along the soil-plant and plant-atmosphere interfaces, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-11289, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-11289, 2020

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