Short-term natural δ¹³C variations in pools and fluxes in a beech forest: the transfer of isotopic signal from recent photosynthates to soil respired CO₂

Abstract

Abstract. The fate of photosynthetic products within the plant-soil continuum determines how long the reduced carbon resides within the ecosystem and when it returns back to the atmosphere in the form of respiratory CO2. We have tested the possibility of measuring natural variation in δ13C to disentangle potential times needed to transfer carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis down to roots and, in general, to belowground up to its further release in the form of soil respiration into the atmosphere in a beech (Fagus sylvatica) forest. For these purposes we have measured the variation in stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions in plant material and in soil respired CO2 every three hours for three consequent days. Possible steps and different signs of post-photosynthetic fractionation during carbon translocation were also identified. A 12 h-periodicity was observed for variation in δ13C in soluble sugars in the top crown leaves and it can be explained by starch day/night dynamics in synthesis and breakdown and by stomatal limitations under elevated vapour pressure deficits. Photosynthetic products were transported down the trunk and mixed with older carbon pools, therefore causing the dampening of the δ13C signal variation. The strongest periodicity of 24 h was found in δ13C in soil respiration indicating changes in root contribution to the total CO2 efflux. Nevertheless, it was possible to identify the speed of carbon translocation through the plant-soil continuum. A period of 24 h was needed to transfer the C assimilated by photosynthesis from the top crown leaves to the tree trunk at breast height and additional 3 h for further respiration of that C by roots and soil microorganisms and its to subsequent diffusion back to the atmosphere.