Biogeosciences
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10.5194/bg-5-779-2008
http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/779/2008/
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http://www.biogeosciences.net/5/779/2008/bg-5-779-2008.pdf
779
795
2008-05-14
Implications of CO<sub>2</sub> pooling on δ<sup>13</sup>C of ecosystem respiration and leaves in Amazonian forest
A. C. de Araújo
alessandro.araujo@falw.vu.nl
J. P. H. B. Ometto
A. J. Dolman
B. Kruijt
M. J. Waterloo
J. R. Ehleringer
Department of Hydrology and Geo-Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Laboratório de Ecologia Isotópia, Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, USP, Av. Centenário, 303, Piracicaba, SP, CEP 13416-190, Brazil
Earth System Science-Climate Change, Centre for Water and Climate, Wageningen-UR, PO Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands
Department of Biology, University of Utah, 257S 1400E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112-0840, USA
IGBP Regional Office/INPE, Av. dos Astronautas, 1.758 - Jd. Granja, São José dos Campos, SP, CEP 12227-010, Brazil
The carbon isotope of a leaf (δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub>) is generally more negative
in riparian zones than in areas with low soil moisture content or rainfall
input. In Central Amazonia, the small-scale topography is composed of
plateaus and valleys, with plateaus generally having a lower soil moisture
status than the valley edges in the dry season. Yet in the dry season, the
nocturnal accumulation of CO<sub>2</sub> is higher in the valleys than on the
plateaus. Samples of sunlit leaves and atmospheric air were collected along
a topographical gradient in the dry season to test whether the δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub>
of sunlit leaves and the carbon isotope ratio of ecosystem respired CO<sub>2</sub>
(δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>Reco</sub>) may be more negative in the valley than those on the
plateau.
<br><br>
The δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub> was significantly more negative in the valley than on
the plateau. Factors considered to be driving the observed variability in
δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub> were: leaf nitrogen concentration, leaf mass per unit area
(LMA), soil moisture availability, more negative carbon isotope ratio of
atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> (δ<sp>13</sup>C<sub>a</sub>) in the valleys during daytime hours, and
leaf discrimination (Δ<sub>leaf</sub>). The observed pattern of δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub>
might suggest that water-use efficiency (WUE) is higher on the plateaus than
in the valleys. However, there was no full supporting evidence for this
because it remains unclear how much of the difference in δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub>
was driven by physiology or &delta<sup>13</sup>C<sub>a</sub>. The δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>Reco</sub> was more
negative in the valleys than on the plateaus on some nights, whereas in
others it was not. It is likely that lateral drainage of CO<sub>2</sub> enriched
in <sup>13</sup>C from upslope areas might have happened when the nights were less
stable. Biotic factors such as soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux (<i>R</i><sub>soil</sub>) and the
responses of plants to environmental variables such as vapor pressure
deficit (<i>D</i>) may also play a role. The preferential pooling of CO<sub>2</sub> in the
low-lying areas of this landscape may confound the interpretation of
δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>leaf</sub> and δ<sup>13</sup>C<sub>Reco</sub>.
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