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- Title
Variations in leaf carbon isotope composition along an arid and semi-arid grassland transect in northern China.
- Authors
Chao Wang; Dongwei Liu; Wentao Luo; Yunting Fang; Xiaobo Wang; Xiaotao Lü; Yong Jiang; Xingguo Han; Bai, Edith
- Abstract
Aims We aimed to quantify the variation of leaf δ13C along an arid and semi-arid grassland transect in northern China. We also evaluated the effects of environmental factors (i.e. precipitation, temperature and altitude) on the spatial variation of leaf δ13C in northern grasslands and Tibetan Plateau, China. Method We sampled leaves of plant species belonging to three herb genera (Stipa spp., Leymus spp. and Cleistogenes spp.) and three shrub genera (Caragana spp., Reaumuria spp. and Nitraria spp.) for carbon isotope analysis from 50 locations along a 3200-km arid and semiarid grassland transect in northern China. Leaf δ13C data in Tibetan Plateau and northern grasslands in China were also compiled from studies in literature. Important Findings Along the transect, leaf δ13C for C3 plants ranged from -28.0 to -23.3, and from -16.3 to -13.8 for C4 plant Cleistogenes spp. The change in leaf δ13C ranged from -0.26 to -3.51 with every 100 mm increase of annual precipitation, and leaf δ13C of shrubs (Nitraria spp., Reaumuria spp. and Caragana spp.) responded more markedly to climatic factors (precipitation and temperature) than that of herbs (Stipa spp., Leymus spp. and Cleistogenes spp.), indicating higher sensitivity of shrub δ13C to climatic changes. The most important factor regulating spatial variations of leaf δ13C in Tibetan Plateau was altitude, while it was precipitation in northern grasslands. Our results suggested that shrubs are more adapted to increasing drought in arid and semi-arid grassland. Controls of environmental factors on leaf δ13C depended on the most limiting factors in arid grassland (precipitation) and Tibetan grasslands (atmospheric CO2 concentration).
- Subjects
CHINA; CARBON isotopes; LEAF anatomy; SPATIAL variation; ARID regions biodiversity; GRASSLANDS; ECONOMICS; CLIMATE change
- Publication
Journal of Plant Ecology, 2016, Vol 9, Issue 5, p576
- ISSN
1752-9921
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jpe/rtw006