Limitations on the climatic and ecological signals provided by the δ13C values of phytoliths from a C4 North American prairie grass

Silica phytoliths, which are deposits of opal-A that precipitate in the intra- and intercellular spaces of plant tissues during transpiration, commonly contain small amounts of occluded organic matter. In this paper, we investigate whether the δ13C values of phytoliths from a C4 grass, Calamovilfa longifolia, vary in response to climatic variables that can affect the carbon-isotope composition of plant tissues. There is no significant correlation (r2 < 0.3) between climate variables and the δ13C values of C. longifolia tissues (average δ13Ctissue = −13.1 ± 0.6 ‰; n = 70) across the North American prairies. However, plant tissue δ13C values are lower for grasses collected in populated areas where the δ13C value of atmospheric CO2 is expected to be lower because of fossil fuel burning. Phytolith δ13C values are more variable (δ13C = −27.3 to −23.0‰; average = −25.1 ± 1.3‰; n = 34) and more sensitive to changes in aridity than whole tissue δ13C values. The strongest correlations are obtained between the δ13C values of stem or sheath phytoliths and humidity (r2 = 0.3), latitude (r2 = 0.4) and amount of precipitation (r2 = 0.5). However, use of these relationships is limited by the wide spread in δ13C values of phytoliths from different plant tissues at the same location. We have been unable to infer any relationship between δ13C values of phytoliths and expected variations in the δ13C values of atmospheric CO2. The C. longifolia phytoliths are depleted of 13C relative to tissue carbon by 10–14‰. This means that the phytoliths examined in this study have carbon isotopic compositions within the range reported previously for phytoliths from C3 plants. This observation may further limit the usefulness of soil-phytolith assemblage δ13C values for identifying shifts in grassland C3:C4 ratios.