Patterns and implications of plant-soil δ13C and δ15N values in African savanna ecosystems

Southern African savannas are mixed plant communities where C3 trees co-exist with C4 grasses. Here foliar δ15N and δ13C were used as indicators of nitrogen uptake and of water use efficiency to investigate the effect of the rainfall regime on the use of nitrogen and water by herbaceous and woody plants in both dry and wet seasons. Foliar δ15N increased as aridity rose for both C3 and C4 plants for both seasons, although the magnitude of the increase was different for C3 and C4 plants and for two seasons. Soil δ15N also significantly increased with aridity. Foliar δ13C increased with aridity for C3 plants in the wet season but not in the dry season, whereas in C4 plants the relationship was more complex and non-linear. The consistently higher foliar δ15N for C3 plants suggests that C4 plants may be a superior competitor for nitrogen. The different foliar δ13C relationships with rainfall may indicate that the C3 plants have an advantage when competing for water resources. The differences in water and nitrogen use likely collectively contribute to the tree–grass coexistence in savannas. Such differences facilitate interpretations of palaeo-vegetation composition variations and help predictions of vegetation composition changes under future climatic scenarios.