Abstract
The use of stable isotopes at natural abundance levels is rapidly emerging as a powerful approach for understanding a number of physiological processes and food web and environmental interactions in ecology, especially in physiological ecology. The analysis of stable isotopes developed as an outgrowth from geochemical investigations and represents a relatively new approach within ecological studies. In the 1970s, the principal application of stable isotopes in physiological ecology was for the measurement of 13C/12C ratios to identify the photosynthetic pathway of a species. Today stable isotopes are being applied to a broader range of questions, including nitrogen fixation, water-use efficiency and water-source studies.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bender, M.M. (1968) Mass spectrometric studies of carbon-13 variations in corn and other grasses. Radiocarbon, 10, 468–72.
Bender, M.M. (1971) Variations in the 13C/12C ratios of plants in relation to the pathway of carbon dioxide fixation. Phytochemistry, 10, 1239–44.
Bender, M.M. and Berge, A.J. (1979) Influence of N and K fertilization and growth temperature on 13C/12C ratios of Timothy grass (Phleum pratense L.). Oecologia, 44, 117–18.
Bender, M.M., Rouhani, I., Viner, H.M. and Black, C.C. (1973) 13C/12C ratio changes in Crassulacean acid metabolism plants. Plant Physiol, 42, 427–30.
Bennett, C.F. and Timell, T.E. (1955) Preparation of cellulose trinitrate. Sven. Papperstidn, 58, 281–6.
Bigeleisen, J., Perlman, M.L. and Prosser, H.C. (1952) Conversion of hydrogenic materials to hydrogen for isotopic analysis. Anal. Chem., 24, 1356–7.
Bradford, K.J., Sharkey, T.D. and Farquhar, G.D. (1983) Gas exchange, stomatal behavior and δ13C values of the flacca tomato mutant in relation to abscisic acid. Plant Physiol, 72, 245–50.
Buchanan, D.L. and Corcoran, B.J. (1959) Sealed tube combustions for the determination of carbon-14 and total carbon. Anal. Chem, 31, 1635–8.
Burk, R.L. (1979) Factors affecting 18O/16O ratios in cellulose. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Washington, Seattle.
Card, K.A., Mahall, B. and Troughton, J.H. (1974) Salinity and carbon isotope ratios in C3 and C4 plants. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Yrbk, 73, 784–5.
Chisholm, B.S., Nelson, D.E. and Schwarz, H.P., (1982) Stable-carbon isotope ratios as a measure of marine versus terrestrial protein in ancient diets. Science, 216, 1131–2.
Coleman, M.L., Shepherd, T.J., Durham, J.J., Rouse, J.E. and Moore, G.R. (1982) Reduction of water with zinc for hydrogen isotope analysis. Anal. Chem, 54, 993–5.
Compston, W. and Epstein, S. (1958) A method for the preparation of carbon dioxide from water vapor for oxygen isotope analysis. Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 39, 511–12.
Craig, H. (1953) The geochemistry of the stable carbon isotopes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 3, 53–92.
Deines, P. (1980) The isotopic composition of reduced organic carbon. In Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (eds P. Fritz and J.Ch. Fontes), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 329–406.
DeNiro, M.J. (1981) The effects of different methods of preparing cellulose nitrate on the determination of the D/H ratios of non-exchangeable hydrogen of cellulose. Earth Planet. Lett, 54, 177–85.
DeNiro, MJ. and Epstein, S. (1976) You are what you eat (plus a few ‰ the carbon isotope cycle in food chains. Geol. Soc. Am. Abs. Prog., 8, 834–5.
DeNiro, M.J. and Epstein, S. (1978) Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 42, 495–506.
DeNiro, M.J. and Hastorf, C.A. (1985) Alteration of 15N/14N and 13C/12C ratios of plant matter during the initial stages of diagenesis: studies utilizing archaeological specimens from Peru. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 49, 97–115.
Dongmann, G., Nurnberg, H.W., Förstel, H. and Wagner, K. (1974) On the enrichment of H2 18O in the leaves of transpiring plants. Radiat. Environ. Biophys, 11, 41–52.
Dugan, J.P., Borthwick, J., Harmon, R.S., Gagnier, M.A., Glahn, J.E., Kinsel, E.P., MacLeod, S., Viglino, J.A. and Hess, J.W. (1985) Guanidine hydrochloride method for determination of water oxygen isotope ratios and the oxygen-18 fractionation between carbon dioxide and water at 25° C. Anal. Chem, 57, 1734–6.
Dunbar, J. and Schmidt, H.-L. (1984) Measurement of the 2H/1H ratios of the carbon bound hydrogen atoms in sugars. Fresenius Z. Anal. Chem, 317, 853–7.
Ehhalt, D., Knott, K., Nagel, J.F. and Vogel, J.C. (1963) Deuterium and oxygen-18 in rainwater. J. Geophys. Res, 68, 3775.
Ehleringer, J.R., Field, C.B., Lin, Z.F. and Kuo, C.Y. (1986) Leaf carbon isotope and mineral composition in subtropical plants along an irradiance cline. Oecologia, 70, 520–6.
Ehleringer, J.R., Schulze, E.D., Ziegler, H., Lange, O.L., Farquhar, G.D. and Cowan, I.R. (1985) Xylem-tapping mistletoes: water or nutrient parasites? Science, 227, 1479–81.
Eickmeier, W.G. and Bender, M.M. (1976) Carbon isotope ratios of Crassulacean acid metabolism species in relation to climate and phytosociology. Oecologia, 25, 341–7.
Epstein, S., Yapp, C.J. and Hall, J. (1976) The determination of the D/H ratio of non-exchangeable hydrogen in cellulose extracted from aquatic and land plants. Earth Planet. Lett, 30, 241–51.
Estep, M.F. and Hoering, T.C. (1980) Biogeochemistry of the stable hydrogen isotopes. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 44, 1197–206.
Estep, M.F. and Hoering, T.C. (1981) Stable hydrogen isotope fractionation during autotrophic and mixotrophic growth of microalgae. Plant Physiol, 67, 474–7.
Evans, J.R., Sharkey, T.D., Berry, J.A. and Farquhar, G.D. (1986) Carbon isotope discrimination measured concurrently with gas exchange to investigate CO2 diffusion in leaves of higher plants. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, 13, 281–92.
Farquhar, G.D. (1980) Carbon isotope discrimination by plants and the ratio of intercellular and atmospheric CO2 concentrations In Carbon Dioxide and Climate: Australian Research (ed. G.I. Pearman), Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, pp. 105–10.
Farquhar, G.D. (1983) On the nature of carbon isotope discrimination in C4 species. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, 10, 205–26.
Farquhar, G.D., Ball, M.C., von Caemmerer, S. and Roksandic, Z. (1982a) Effect of salinity and humidity on δ13C value of halophytes — evidence for diffusional isotope fractionation determined by the ratio of intercellular/atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 under different environmental conditions. Oecologia, 52, 121–4.
Farquhar, G.D., Hubick, K.T., Condon, A.G. and Richards, R.A. (1988) Carbon isotope fractionation and plant water-use efficiency. In Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research (eds P.W. Rundel, J.R. Ehleringer and K.A. Nagy), Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 21–40.
Farquhar, G.D., O’Leary, M.H. and Berry, J.A. (1982b) On the relationship between carbon isotope discrimination and the intercellular carbon dioxide concentration in leaves. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, 9, 121–37.
Farquhar, G.D. and Richards, R.A. (1984) Isotopic composition of plant carbon correlates with water-use efficiency of wheat genotypes. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, 11, 539–52.
Farris, F. and Strain, B.R. (1978) The effects of water-stress on H2 18O enrichment. Radiat. Environ. Biophys, 15, 167–202.
Förstel, H. (1978) The enrichment of 18O in leaf water under natural conditions. Radiat. Environ. Biophys, 15, 323–44.
Friedman, I. and O’Neil, J.R. (1978) Isotopes in Nature. In Handbook of Geochemistry (ed. K.H. Wedepohl), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 1B1–1B8.
Fritz, P. and Fontes, J.C. (eds) (1980) Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry, Vol. I, The terrestrial environment, Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Guy, R.D., Reid, D.M. and Krouse, H.R. (1980) Shifts in carbon isotope ratio of two C3 halophytes under natural and artificial conditions. Oecologia, 44, 241–7.
Hattersley, P.W. (1982) δ13C values of C4 types in grasses. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, 9, 139–54.
Hattersley, P.W. (1983) The distribution of C3 and C4 grasses in Australia in relation to climate. Oecologia, 57, 113–28.
Hauck, R.D. (1982) Nitrogen-isotope ratio analysis, Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2, 2nd edn, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, pp. 735–79.
Hayes, J.M. (1983) Practice and principles of isotopic measurements in organic geochemistry. In Organic Geochemistry of Contemporaneous and Ancient Sediments (ed. W.G. Meinschein), SEPM, Bloomington, Indiana, pp. 5–31.
Hoefs, J. (1980) Stable Isotope Geochemistry , Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 208 pp.
Keeley, J.E., Osmond, C.B. and Raven, J.A. (1984) Stylites , a vascular land plant without stomata absorbs CO2 via its roots. Nature, London, 310, 694–5.
Kohl, D.H., Shearer, G.B. and Commoner, B. (1971) Fertilizer nitrogen: contribution to nitrate in surface water in a cornbelt watershed. Science, 174 , 1331–4.
Lange, O.L. and Zuber, M. (1977) Frerea indica, a stem succulent CAM plant with deciduous C3 leaves. Oecologia, 31, 67–72.
Leaney, F.W., Osmond, C.B., Allison, G.B. and Ziegler, H. (1985) Hydrogen-isotope composition of leaf water in C3 and C4 plants: its relationship to the hydrogen-isotope composition of dry matter. Planta, 164, 215–20.
Lerman, J.C., DeLeens, E., Nato, A. and Moyse, A. (1974) Variations in the carbon isotope composition of a plant with Crassulacean acid metabolism. Plant Physiol, 53, 581–4.
Ludlow, M.M., Froughton, J.H. and Jones, RJ. (1976) A technique for determining the proportion of C3 and C4 species in plant samples using natural isotopes of carbon. J. Agric. Sci. Canb, 87, 625–32.
Mann, J. (1971) Deuteration and tritiation. In Cellulose and Cellulose Derivatives V, Part IV (eds N. Bikales and L. Segal), Interscience Publ., New York, 89 pp.
Medina, E. and Minchin, P. (1980) Stratification of 13C values of leaves in Amazonian rainforest. Oecologia, 45, 377–8.
Minagawa, M., Winter, D.A. and Kaplan, I.R. (1984) Comparison of Kjeldahl and combustion methods for measurement of nitrogen isotope ratios in organic matter. Anal. Chem, 56, 1859–61.
Mooney, H.A., Troughton, J.H. and Berry, J.A. (1977) Carbon isotope ratio measurements of ucculent plants in South Africa. Oecologia, 30, 95–305.
Nishida, K., Roksandic, Z. and Osmond, B. (1981) Carbon isotope ratios of epidermal and mesophyll tissues from leaves of C3 and CAM plants. Plant Cell Physiol, 22, 923–6.
O’Leary, M.H. (1981) Carbon isotope fractionation in plants. Phytochemistry, 20, 553–67.
O’Leary, M.H. (1984) Measurement of isotopic fractionation associated with diffusion of carbon in aqueous solution. J. Phys. Chem, 88, 823–5.
O’Leary, M.H. and Osmond, C.B. (1980) Diffusional contribution to carbon isotope fractionation during dark CO2 fixation in CAM plants. Plant Physiol, 66, 931–4.
O’Leary, M.H., Rife, J.E. and Slater, J.D. (1981) Kinetic and isotope effect studies of maize phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. Biochemistry, 20, 7308–14.
Osmond, C.B., Allaway, W.G., Sutton, B.G., Troughton, J.H., Queiroz, O., Lüttge, U. and Winter, K. (1973) Carbon isotope discrimination in photosynthesis of CAM plants. Nature, London, 246, 41–2.
Osmond, C.B., Valaane, N., Maslam, S.M., Uotila, P. and Roksandic, Z. (1981) Comparisons of δ13C values in leaves of aquatic macrophytes from different habitats in Britain and Finland; some implications for photosynthetic processes in aquatic plants. Oecologia, 50, 117–24.
Osmond, C.B., Winter, K. and Ziegler, H. (1982) Functional significance of different pathways of CO2 fixation in photosynthesis. In Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology New Series, Physiological Plant Ecology II (eds O.L. Lange, P.S. Nobel, C.B. Osmond and H. Ziegler), Springer-Verlag, New York, Vol. 12B.
Osmond, C.B., Ziegler, H. Stichler, W. and Trimborn, P. (1975) Carbon isotope discrimination in alpine succulent plants supposed to be capable of Crassulacean acid metabolism. Oecologia, 18, 209–17.
Peterson, B.J., Howarth, R.W. and Garritt, R.H. (1985) Multiple stable isotopes used to trace the flow of organic material in estuarine food webs. Science, 227, 1361–3.
Raven, J., Beardall, J. and Griffiths, H. (1982) Inorganic C-sources for Lemanea cladophora and Ranunculus in a fast-flowing stream: Measurements of gas exchange and of carbon isotope ratio and their ecological implications. Oecologia, 53, 68–78.
Reibach, P.H. and Benedict, CR. (1977) Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes by phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase from C4 plants. Plant Physiol, 59, 564–8.
Roeske, C. and O’Leary, M.H. (1984) Carbon isotope effects on the enzyme catalyst carboxylation of ribulose bisphosphate. Biochemistry, 23, 6275–84.
Rundel, P.W., Ehleringer, J.R. and Nagy, K.A. (eds) (1988) Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research. Ecological Studies, Vol. 68, Springer-Verlag, New York.
Rundel, P.W., Stichler, W., Zandler, R.H. and Ziegler, H. (1979) Carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of bryophytes from arid and humid regions. Oecologia, 44, 91–4.
Schiegl, W.E. and Vogel, J.C. (1970) Deuterium content of organic matter. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett, 7 , 307–13.
Schoeninger, M.J. and DeNiro, M.J. (1984) Nitrogen and carbon isotopic composition of bone collagen from marine and terrestrial animals. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 48, 625–39.
Sharkey, T.D. and Berry, J.A. (1985) Carbon isotope fractionation of algae as influenced by an inducible CO2 concentrating mechanism. In Inorganic Carbon Uptake by Aquatic Photosynthetic Organisms (eds W.J. Lucas and J.A. Berry), American Society of Plant Physiology, Rockville, pp. 389–401.
Shearer, G. and Kohl, D.H. (1988) Estimates of N2 fixation in ecosystems: the need for and basis of the 15N natural abundance method. In Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research (eds P.W. Rundel, J.R. Ehleringer and K.A. Nagy), Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 342–74.
Shearer, G., Kohl, D.H. and Chien, S.H. (1978) The nitrogen-15 abundance in a wide variety of soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J, 42, 899–902.
Shearer, G., Kohl, D.H., Virginia, R.A., Bryan, B.A., Skeeters, J.L., Nilsen, E.T., Sharifi, M.R. and Rundel, P.W. (1983) Estimates of N2-fixation from variation in the natural abundance of 15N in Sonoran Desert ecosystems. Oecologia, 56, 365–73.
Shomer-Ilan, A., Nissenbaum, A., Galun, M. and Waisel, Y. (1979) Effect of water regime on carbon isotope composition of lichens. Plant Physiol, 63, 201–5.
Smith, B.N. (1975) Carbon and hydrogen isotopes of sucrose from various sources. Naturwissenschaften, 62, 390.
Smith, B.N. and Brown, W.V. (1973) The Kranz syndrome in the Graminae as indicated by carbon isotopic ratios. Am. J. Bot, 60, 505–13.
Smith, B.N. and Epstein, S. (1971a) Biogeochemistry of the stable isotopes of hydrogen and carbon in salt marsh biota. Plant Physiol, 46, 738–42.
Smith, B.N. and Epstein, S. (1971b) Two categories of 13C/12C ratios for higher plants. Plant Physiol, 47, 380–4.
Smith, B.N., Oliver, J. and McMillan, C. (1976) Influence of carbon source, oxygen concentration, light intensity, and temperature on 13C/12C ratios in plant tissues. Bot. Gaz, 137, 99–104.
Smith, B.N. and Turner, B.L. (1975) Distribution of Kranz syndrome among Asteraceae. Am. J. Bot, 62 541–5.
Smith, F.A. and Walker, N.A. (1980) Photosynthesis by aquatic plants: effects of unstirred layers in relation to assimilation of CO2 and HCO3 - and to carbon isotopic discrimination. New Phytol, 86, 245–59.
Smith, S.D. and Osmond, C.B. (1987) Stem photosynthesis in a desert ephemeral, Eriogonum inflatum. Morphology, stomatal conductance and water-use efficiency in field populations. Oecologia, 72, 533–41.
Sternberg, L., DeNiro, M.J. and Johnson, H.B. (1986) Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes ratios of water from photosynthetic tissues of CAM and C3 plants. Plant Physiol, 82, 428–31.
Sternberg, L. and DeNiro, M.J. (1983) Isotopic composition of cellulose from C3, C4 and CAM plants growing near one another. Science, 220, 947–9.
Sternberg, L., DeNiro, M.J. and Ajie, H. (1984a) Stable hydrogen isotope ratios of saponifiable lipids and cellulose nitrate from CAM, C3 and C4 plants. Phytochemistry, 23, 2475–7.
Sternberg, L., DeNiro, M.J. and Keeley, J.E. (1984b) Hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon isotope ratios of cellulose from submerged aquatic Crassulacean acid metabolism and non-Crassulacean acid metabolism plants. Plant Physiol, 76, 68–70.
Sweeney, R.E., Liu, K.K. and Kaplan, LR. (1978) Oceanic nitrogen isotopes and their uses in determining the source of sedimentary nitrogen. In Stable Isotopes in the Earth Science (ed. B.W. Robinson), Division of Scientific and Industrial Research Bull. 220.
Tieszen, L.L., Hein, D., Qvortrup, S.A., Troughton, J.H. and Imbamba, S.K. (1979a) Use of δ13C values to determine vegetation selectivity in East African herbivores. Oecologia, 37, 351–9.
Tieszen, L.L., Senyimba, M.M., Imbamba, S.K. and Troughton, J.H. (1979b) The distribution of C3 and C4 grasses and carbon isotope discrimination along an altitudinal and moisture gradient in Kenya. Oecologia, 37 , 337–50.
Troughton, J.H., Card, K.A. and Hendy, C.H. (1974) Photosynthetic pathways and carbon isotope discrimination by plants. Carnegie Inst. Wash. Yrbk, 73, 768–80.
Troughton, J.H., Mooney, H.A., Berry, J.A. and Verity, D. (1977) Variable carbon isotope ratios of Dudleya species growing in a natural environment. Oecologia, 30, 307–11.
Vogel, J.C. (1980) Fractionation of the carbon isotopes during photosynthesis. In Sitzungsberichte der Heidelbergwer Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse Jahrgang 1980, 3. Abhandlung, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 111–34.
Webster, G.L., Brown, W.V. and Smith, B.N. (1975) Systematics of photosynthetic carbon fixation pathways in Euphorbia. Taxon, 24, 27–33.
Whelan, T., Sackett, W.M. and Benedict. CR. (1973) Enzymatic fractionation of carbon isotopes by phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase from C4 plants. Plant Physiol, 51, 1051–4.
White, J.W.C., Cook, E.R., Lawrence, J.R. and Broecker, W.S. (1985) The D/H ratios of sap in trees: implications for water sources and tree ring D/H ratios. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 49, 237–46.
Winter, K. (1979) δ13C values of some succulent plants from Madagascar. Oecologia, 40, 103–12.
Winter, K., Holton, J.A.M., Edwards, G.E. and O’Leary, M.H. (1982) Effect of low relative humidity on δ13C value in two C3 grasses and in Panicum miliodes, a C3-C4 intermediate species. J. Exp. Bot, 132, 88–91.
Winter, K., Lüttge, U., Winter, E. and Troughton, J.H. (1978) Seasonal shift from C3 photosyn thesis to Crassulacean acid metabolism in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum growing in its natural environment. Oecologia, 34, 225–37.
Winter, K., Troughton, J.H. and Card, K.A. (1976) δ13C values of grass species collected in the Northern Sahara Desert. Oecologia, 25, 115–23.
Wise, L.E. (1944) Wood Chemistry, Reinhold, New York, 900 pp.
Wong, S.C. and Osmond, C.B. (1988) Elevated atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 and plant growth. III. Measurement of root biomass in mixed-culture using δ13C values, and its importance during interactions between wheat and Japanese millet in response to N-nutrition and irradiance. Austr. J. Plant Physiol, in press.
Wong, W.W., Lee, L.S. and Klein, P.D. (1987) Oxygen isotope ratio measurements on carbon dioxide generated by reaction of microliter quantities of biological fluids with guanidine hydrochloride. Anal. Chem, 59, 690–3.
Yapp, C.J. and Epstein, S. (1982) A reexamination of cellulose carbon-bound hydrogen 8D measurements and some factors affecting plant-water D/H relationships. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 46, 955–65.
Yoneyama, T. and Ohtani, T. (1983) Variations in the natural 13C abundances in leguminous plants. Plant Cell Physiol, 24, 971–7.
Ziegler, H., Osmond, C.B., Stichler, W. and Trimborn, P. (1976) Hydrogen isotope discrimination in higher plants: correlations with photosynthetic pathway and environment. Oecologia, 128, 85–92.
Zundel, G., Miekeley, W., Grisi, B.M. and Förstel, H. (1978) The H2 18O enrichment of leaf water of tropic trees: comparison of species from the tropical rain forest and the semi-arid region in Brazil. Radiat. Environ, 15, 203–12.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Chapman and Hall
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ehleringer, J.R., Osmond, C.B. (1989). Stable isotopes. In: Pearcy, R.W., Ehleringer, J.R., Mooney, H.A., Rundel, P.W. (eds) Plant Physiological Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2221-1_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2221-1_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7496-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2221-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive