References

BGD

Biogeosciences Discussions

BGD

1810-6285

Copernicus GmbH

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/bgd-5-903-2008

Carbon isotope discrimination of C3 vegetation in Central Asian Grassland as related to long-term and short-term precipitation patterns

Wittmer

¹ Auerswald

¹ Tungalag

² Bai

Y. F.

³ Schäufele

¹ Bai

C. H.

³ Schnyder

Lehrstuhl für Grünlandlehre, Technische Universität München, Am Hochanger 1, 85350 Freising-Weihenstephan, Germany

National University of Mongolia, Ikh surguulin gudalmj – 1, Baga toiruu, Sukhbataar district, Ulaanbaatar, Republic of Mongolia

Laboratory of Quantitative Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincu, Xiangshan, Beijing, 100093, People's Republic of China

21 02 2008

5 1 903 935

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The relationship between carbon isotope discrimination (13Δ) of C3 vegetation and long-term (30 years) and short-term (growing period) precipitation was investigated. Members of Stipa, a dominant grass genus in the (semi-)arid Asian steppes, and other C3 species were collected along aridity gradients in Inner Mongolia in 2005 (11 sites, 71 samples) and in the Republic of Mongolia in 2006 (40 sites, 45 samples). The data set was expanded with published and unpublished data of Stipa and other C3 species (11 studies covering 8 years, including 64 observations of Stipa, and 103 observations of other C3 species) and C3 community bulk-samples (11 samples). Weather data were geostatistically interpolated for all sampling sites and years. 13Δ of Stipa followed different relationships for the individual years when related to mean annual precipitation due to large anomalies between annual and long-term average precipitation patterns. But, the 13Δ response to rainfall converged when mean annual precipitation was replaced by year-specific mean daily growing period precipitation (PG). Remarkably, the 13Δ-response to PG for C3 species as a whole (including herbaceous dicots, semi-shrubs and grasses) and also the C3 community-level response were virtually identical to that of Stipa. The relation was also valid outside the geographical and climatic range where it was developed, giving proof of its robustness.

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