Carbon isotope discrimination and foliar nutrient status of Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) in contrasting Mojave Desert soils

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-2004

Publication Title

Oecologia

Volume

138

Issue

2

First page number:

210

Last page number:

215

Abstract

We investigated the relationships between foliar stable carbon isotope discrimination (Delta), % foliar N, and predawn water potentials ((water potential symbol)pd) and midday stomatal conductance (g(s)) of Larrea tridentata across five Mojave Desert soils with different age-specific surface and sub-surface horizon development and soil hydrologies. We wished to elucidate how this long-lived evergreen shrub optimizes leaf-level physiological performance across soils with physicochemical characteristics that affect the distribution of limiting water and nitrogen resources. We found that in young, coarse alluvial soils that permit water infiltration to deeper soil horizons, % foliar N was highest and Delta, g(s) and psgrpd were lowest, while %N was lowest and Delta, g(s) and (water potential symbol)pd were highest in fine sandy soils; Larrea growing in older soils with well-developed surface and sub-surface horizons exhibited intermediate values for these parameters. Delta showed negative linear relationships with % N (R 2=0.54) and a positive relationship with psgrpd (R 2=0.14). Multiple regression analyses showed a strong degree of multicolinearity of g(s) and Delta with (water potential symbol)pd and N, suggesting that soil-mediated distribution of co-limiting water and nitrogen resources was the primary determinant of stomatal behavior, which is the primary limitation to productivity in this shrub. These findings show that subtle changes in the soil medium plays a strong role in the spatial and temporal distribution and utilization of limiting water and nitrogen resources by this long-lived desert evergreen, and that this role can be detected through carbon isotope ratios.

Keywords

Bajada; Carbon isotope ratios; Larrea tridentata (creosote bush); Mojave desert; Nitrogen; Photosynthesis; Plant water relations; Soil horizon development; Soil hydrology

Disciplines

Plant Biology | Soil Science

Language

English

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