edoc

Rapid mixing between old and new C pools in the canopy of mature forest trees

Keel, Sonja G. and Siegwolf, Rolf T. W. and Jäggi, Maya and Körner, Christian. (2007) Rapid mixing between old and new C pools in the canopy of mature forest trees. Plant, cell & environment, Vol. 30, H. 8. pp. 963-972.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/dok/A5249749

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

Stable C isotope signals in plant tissues became a key tool in explaining growth responses to the environment. The technique is based on the fundamental assumption that the isotopic composition of a given unit of tissue (e.g. a tree ring) reflects the specific C uptake conditions in the leaf at a given time. Beyond the methodological implications of any deviation from this assumption, it is of physiological interest whether new C is transferred directly from sources (a photosynthesizing leaf) to structural sinks (e.g. adjacent stem tissue), or inherently passes through existing (mobile) C pools, which may be of variable (older) age. Here, we explore the fate of (13)C-labelled photosynthates in the crowns of a 30-35 m tall, mixed forest using a canopy crane. In all nine study species labelled C reached woody tissue within 2-9 h after labelling. Four months later, very small signals were left in branch wood of Tilia suggesting that low mixing of new, labelled C with old C had taken place. In contrast, signals in Fagus and Quercus had increased, indicating more intense mixing. This species-specific mixing of new with old C pools is likely to mask year- or season-specific linkages between tree ring formation and climate and has considerable implications for climate reconstruction using stable isotopes as proxies for past climatic conditions.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Ehemalige Einheiten Umweltwissenschaften > Pflanzenökologie (Körner)
UniBasel Contributors:Körner, Christian
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Blackwell
ISSN:0140-7791
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Related URLs:
Identification Number:
Last Modified:22 Mar 2012 14:25
Deposited On:22 Mar 2012 13:44

Repository Staff Only: item control page