Soil Moisture and Soluble Salt Content Dominate Changes in Foliar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of Desert Communities in the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Changing precipitation and temperature are principal drivers for nutrient cycling dynamics in drylands. Foliar isotopic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) composition (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) are often used to describe the plant's water use efficiency and nitrogen use strategy in plant ecology research. However, the drivers and mechanisms under differential foliar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N among plant species and communities are largely unknown for arid high-elevation regions. This study collected 462 leaf samples of ten top-dominant plant species (two or three replicates per species) across 16 sites in 2005 and 2010 to measure the community-weighted means (CWMs) of foliar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N, northeastern Qaidam Basin, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Our results s

SUBMITTER: Niu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8297661 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature