Quantitative analysis of plant water sources in the Yangtze River source area

doi:10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2023.00058

Journal of Desert Research ›› 2024, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (1): 102-110.DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-694X.2023.00058

Quantitative analysis of plant water sources in the Yangtze River source area

Xiaoying Liu¹(), Zongjie Li¹(), Mengqing Liu¹, Bin Xu¹, Juan Gui², Qiao Cui², Jian Xue², Ran Duan¹

^1.College of Energy and Power Engineering，Lanzhou University of Technology，Lanzhou 730050，China
^2.Observation and Research Station of Eco-Hydrology and National Park by Stable Isotope Tracing in Alpine Region / Gansu Qilian Mountains Ecology Research Center / National Key Laboratory of Ecological Security and Sustainable Development in Arid Region，Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources，Chinese Academy of Sciences，Lanzhou 730000，China

Received:2023-03-27 Revised:2023-04-28 Online:2024-01-20 Published:2023-12-26
Contact: Zongjie Li

Abstract

Abstract:

The study explored the stable isotope data relationships of hydrogen （δ²H） and oxygen （δ¹⁸O） in different water bodies such as plant water， soil water， precipitation， river water， glacier snow meltwater， ground ice and supra-permafrost water in the Yangtze River source area based on stable isotope tracing techniques. By comparing the stable isotopes of 22 sample points， it was found that both δ²H and δ¹⁸O stable isotope values of herbs were enriched than those of shrubs， while the opposite was true for δ¹⁸O isotope values. The distribution of stable isotope characteristics of water bodies showed that the direct sources of plant water were soil water at different levels and indirect sources were river water， supra-permafrost water， ground ice， precipitation and glacier snow meltwater. The MixSIAR model was adopted to calculate the contributions of different water resources to plant water， and indicated that herbaceous plants in the Yangtze River source area primarily utilized soil water from 0-20 cm （13.0%） and 20-40 cm （14.0%）， whereas shrubs primarily used soil water from 40-60 cm （11.1%） and 80-100 cm （11.1%）. Shrubs received 7.6%， 9.5%， 11.1%， 9.6%， and 7.6% of the snow and ice melt， precipitation， subsurface ice melt， river water， and water on permafrost， respectively. Herbaceous plants received 8.3%， 8.2%， 5.7%， 7.1%， and 8.9% of these factors.

Key words: Yangtze River source area, plant water source, isotope tracing technique, MixSIAR model

CLC Number:

Q945.79

Xiaoying Liu, Zongjie Li, Mengqing Liu, Bin Xu, Juan Gui, Qiao Cui, Jian Xue, Ran Duan. Quantitative analysis of plant water sources in the Yangtze River source area[J]. Journal of Desert Research, 2024, 44(1): 102-110.

Figures/Tables 7

Fig.1 Location of the study area and sampling points

Fig.2 Isotopic distribution of plant water at different elevations in the Yangtze River source area：（A） δ2H distribution of plant water at different elevations，（B） δ18O distribution of plant water at different elevations

Fig.3 The relationship between precipitation， soil water and plant xylem water δ2H-δ18O in the Yangtze River source area

Table 1 Statistical characteristics δ2H of and δ18O isotope composition of soil water samples from shrub square

土层 /cm	稳定同位素值
	δ²H				δ¹⁸O
	最大值	最小值	平均值	标准差	最大值	最小值	平均值	标准差
0~20	-74.38	-121.81	-93.77	17.01	-9.68	-16.35	-13.28	2.34
20~40	-72.47	-95.83	-82.64	7.78	-9.25	-12.00	-10.36	1.26
40~60	-73.31	-100.16	-83.45	11.62	-9.54	-13.54	-11.77	1.93
60~80	-73.21	-94.71	-82.94	8.44	-9.46	-12.02	-10.86	1.18
80~100	-74.24	-120.89	-104.41	16.18	-11.41	-16.62	-15.31	1.98

Table 2 Statistical characteristics δ2H of and δ18O isotope composition of soil water samples from herbal square

土层 /cm	稳定同位素值
	δ²H				δ¹⁸O
	最大值	最小值	平均值	标准差	最大值	最小值	平均值	标准差
0~20	-63.61	-141.08	-99.09	21.10	-8.68	-19.14	-12.94	3.04
20~40	-73.47	-148.32	-95.17	19.18	-8.72	-21.05	-12.55	2.80
40~60	-80.98	-151.27	-97.64	19.18	-11.23	-20.89	-13.28	2.81
60~80	-80.60	-146.72	-93.69	18.37	-11.16	-21.10	-11.81	2.79
80~100	-75.53	-137.65	-93.47	20.23	-9.82	-19.02	-12.49	2.76

Fig.4 Direct comparison results of different plant waters in the Yangtze River source area

Fig.5 Direct sources and indirect sources of water for shrubs and herbs

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Quantitative analysis of plant water sources in the Yangtze River source area

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