A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model

Abstract The depth‐wise distribution of root water uptake is typically inferred through linear mixing models that utilize knowledge of stable water isotopes in soil and plants. However, these existing models often represent the water uptake profile in discrete segments, potentially introducing signi...

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Main Authors: Han Fu, Eric John Neil, Juxin Liu, Bingcheng Si
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-08-01
Series:Water Resources Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036852
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author Han Fu
Eric John Neil
Juxin Liu
Bingcheng Si
author_facet Han Fu
Eric John Neil
Juxin Liu
Bingcheng Si
author_sort Han Fu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The depth‐wise distribution of root water uptake is typically inferred through linear mixing models that utilize knowledge of stable water isotopes in soil and plants. However, these existing models often represent the water uptake profile in discrete segments, potentially introducing significant uncertainty and bias into results. In this study, we introduced a novel root water uptake mixing model that combines a Bayesian linear mixing framework with a continuous root water uptake pattern, named CrisPy. To evaluate the performance of CrisPy, we conducted virtual and field‐based tests under several types of prior information. CrisPy showed accurate and robust reconstruction of the true root water uptake profile under various prior information settings in the virtual test. By contrast, the discrete mixing model, MixSIAR was greatly influenced by the prior information and deviated from the true profile. The root mean squared error of the uptake proportions from CrisPy ranged from 3.6% to 7.4%, while MixSIAR exhibited values of 6.3%–15.2%. Furthermore, posterior predictive checking indicated that CrisPy effectively reconstructed the mean and standard deviations of plant water isotopic compositions in both virtual and field‐based tests. MixSIAR, however, underestimated the mean and overestimated the standard deviation of these compositions. These findings collectively support the enhanced accuracy, greater robustness, and reduced uncertainty of CrisPy in comparison to MixSIAR. Therefore, CrisPy provides a powerful tool for partitioning plant water sources.
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spelling doaj-art-a0812a7b3f004f94a74e230f06c1cb802025-08-20T02:58:21ZengWileyWater Resources Research0043-13971944-79732024-08-01608n/an/a10.1029/2023WR036852A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing ModelHan Fu0Eric John Neil1Juxin Liu2Bingcheng Si3Department of Soil Science University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK CanadaDepartment of Soil Science University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK CanadaDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK CanadaDepartment of Soil Science University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon SK CanadaAbstract The depth‐wise distribution of root water uptake is typically inferred through linear mixing models that utilize knowledge of stable water isotopes in soil and plants. However, these existing models often represent the water uptake profile in discrete segments, potentially introducing significant uncertainty and bias into results. In this study, we introduced a novel root water uptake mixing model that combines a Bayesian linear mixing framework with a continuous root water uptake pattern, named CrisPy. To evaluate the performance of CrisPy, we conducted virtual and field‐based tests under several types of prior information. CrisPy showed accurate and robust reconstruction of the true root water uptake profile under various prior information settings in the virtual test. By contrast, the discrete mixing model, MixSIAR was greatly influenced by the prior information and deviated from the true profile. The root mean squared error of the uptake proportions from CrisPy ranged from 3.6% to 7.4%, while MixSIAR exhibited values of 6.3%–15.2%. Furthermore, posterior predictive checking indicated that CrisPy effectively reconstructed the mean and standard deviations of plant water isotopic compositions in both virtual and field‐based tests. MixSIAR, however, underestimated the mean and overestimated the standard deviation of these compositions. These findings collectively support the enhanced accuracy, greater robustness, and reduced uncertainty of CrisPy in comparison to MixSIAR. Therefore, CrisPy provides a powerful tool for partitioning plant water sources.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036852root water uptakecontinuous mixing modelwater stable isotopeBayesian inferenceMixSIAR
spellingShingle Han Fu
Eric John Neil
Juxin Liu
Bingcheng Si
A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
Water Resources Research
root water uptake
continuous mixing model
water stable isotope
Bayesian inference
MixSIAR
title A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
title_full A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
title_fullStr A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
title_full_unstemmed A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
title_short A Continuous Root Water Uptake Isotope Mixing Model
title_sort continuous root water uptake isotope mixing model
topic root water uptake
continuous mixing model
water stable isotope
Bayesian inference
MixSIAR
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023WR036852
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