کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
8845065 1617108 2018 8 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Leaf δ13C as an indicator of water availability along elevation gradients in the dry Himalayas
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم زیستی و بیوفناوری علوم کشاورزی و بیولوژیک بوم شناسی، تکامل، رفتار و سامانه شناسی
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
Leaf δ13C as an indicator of water availability along elevation gradients in the dry Himalayas
چکیده انگلیسی
Understanding the variation of water availability along elevation gradients is essential for predicting the response of mountain ecosystems to global warming. However, it is challenging to precisely quantify water availability in dry mountains, especially in remote areas where climate records are limited. In dry habitats, leaf δ13C is highly sensitive to water availability. Here, we demonstrated how leaf δ13C of a widespread species could be used as an indicator of water availability in dry mountainous regions. We measured leaf δ13C and nitrogen content in one dominant forb and two cushion species along two elevational transects in the central Himalayas, Nepal. The Thornthwaite climatic moisture index was determined for each elevation site based on the 1-km2 WorldClim data of monthly mean temperature and precipitation. We found that the elevational variation of δ13C in each of the three species was associated with precipitation, in which growing-season moisture index and annual precipitation were negatively correlated with δ13C, regardless of elevation and temperature. Elevation and leaf nitrogen showed no significant relationship with leaf δ13C. Thus, within-species leaf δ13C promises to be a simple and reliable indicator of environmental severity along elevation gradients, which can be easily quantified in remote high-mountain environments. Leaf δ13C would be a useful predictor of the change in water availability induced by warming in dry mountainous regions like the Himalayas.
ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Ecological Indicators - Volume 94, Part 1, November 2018, Pages 266-273
نویسندگان
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