Retrieving nitrogen isotopic signatures from fresh leaf reflectance spectra: disentangling δ(15)N from biochemical and structural leaf properties.

ABSTRACT: Linking remote sensing methodology to stable isotope ecology provides a promising approach to study ecological processes from small to large spatial scales. Here, we show that δ(15)N can be detected in fresh leaf reflectance spectra of field samples along a spatial gradient of increasing nitrogen input from an N2-fixing invasive species. However, in field data it is unclear whether δ(15)N directly influences leaf reflectance spectra or if the relationship is based on covariation between δ(15)N and foliar nitrogen content or other leaf properties. Using a (15)N-labeling approach, we experimentally varied δ(15)N independently of any other leaf properties in three plant species across different leaf developmental and physiological states. δ(15)N could successfully be modeled by means of parti

SUBMITTER: Hellmann C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4416452 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature