Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China
Water transformation within soil–plant systems is one of the critical aspects that reflects the ecohydrological dynamics. However, it remains limited to understand soil water movement and plant water uptake in wetland ecosystems under changing moisture conditions. Here, we analyzed stable isotopic v...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-09-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25009537 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849237506000683008 |
|---|---|
| author | Shiyong Tao Jun Xia Junqiang Xia Xiaoqiang Chen Wenjun Lv Haijiao Gui Jing Xu |
| author_facet | Shiyong Tao Jun Xia Junqiang Xia Xiaoqiang Chen Wenjun Lv Haijiao Gui Jing Xu |
| author_sort | Shiyong Tao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water transformation within soil–plant systems is one of the critical aspects that reflects the ecohydrological dynamics. However, it remains limited to understand soil water movement and plant water uptake in wetland ecosystems under changing moisture conditions. Here, we analyzed stable isotopic variations of precipitation, soil water and plant water in a typical flood wetland in Poyang Lake from December 2020 to May 2021. A progressive enrichment of the δ2H and δ18O values existed from soil water to plant stem and leaf water. The importance of considering the precipitation isotopic time-scale was emphasized when interpreting seasonal soil water isotopes in the flood wetlands. The temporal isotopic fluctuations in shallow soil water (0∼40 cm) were more pronounced, and frequent abrupt isotopic enrichment of subsurface layers was attributed to the ubiquitous preferential flow. The vertical isotopic distributions of deep soil water (40∼150 cm) exhibited two distinct patterns: stable isotopes remained relatively constant, and showed a gradual depletion trend with increasing depths, which were related to the infiltration depth of precipitation in the form of translatory flow. There were significant monthly variations in water uptake from shallow soil layers by dominant plants based on the MixSIAR model, with the highest and lowest values of ∼94 % (December) and ∼47 % (May), respectively. A definite shift in water use strategies from multi-source combinations towards increased dependence on precipitation was revealed from the dry to wet conditions. These findings enhance our understanding of ecohydrological processes in Poyang Lake wetland, and provide a scientific basis for improving water resources management aiming at sustainable development of regional ecosystem service functions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b2b93006f740419fab057fe8492b54a7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-b2b93006f740419fab057fe8492b54a72025-08-20T04:01:57ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-09-0117811402110.1016/j.ecolind.2025.114021Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, ChinaShiyong Tao0Jun Xia1Junqiang Xia2Xiaoqiang Chen3Wenjun Lv4Haijiao Gui5Jing Xu6State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Water System Science for Sponge City Construction, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Water System Science for Sponge City Construction, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, ChinaSchool of Infrastructure Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 116024 Dalian, China; State Key Laboratory of Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, 116024 Dalian, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Water System Science for Sponge City Construction, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Water System Science for Sponge City Construction, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Water System Science for Sponge City Construction, Wuhan University, 430072 Wuhan, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, No.8 Donghu South Road, 430072 Wuhan, China.Water transformation within soil–plant systems is one of the critical aspects that reflects the ecohydrological dynamics. However, it remains limited to understand soil water movement and plant water uptake in wetland ecosystems under changing moisture conditions. Here, we analyzed stable isotopic variations of precipitation, soil water and plant water in a typical flood wetland in Poyang Lake from December 2020 to May 2021. A progressive enrichment of the δ2H and δ18O values existed from soil water to plant stem and leaf water. The importance of considering the precipitation isotopic time-scale was emphasized when interpreting seasonal soil water isotopes in the flood wetlands. The temporal isotopic fluctuations in shallow soil water (0∼40 cm) were more pronounced, and frequent abrupt isotopic enrichment of subsurface layers was attributed to the ubiquitous preferential flow. The vertical isotopic distributions of deep soil water (40∼150 cm) exhibited two distinct patterns: stable isotopes remained relatively constant, and showed a gradual depletion trend with increasing depths, which were related to the infiltration depth of precipitation in the form of translatory flow. There were significant monthly variations in water uptake from shallow soil layers by dominant plants based on the MixSIAR model, with the highest and lowest values of ∼94 % (December) and ∼47 % (May), respectively. A definite shift in water use strategies from multi-source combinations towards increased dependence on precipitation was revealed from the dry to wet conditions. These findings enhance our understanding of ecohydrological processes in Poyang Lake wetland, and provide a scientific basis for improving water resources management aiming at sustainable development of regional ecosystem service functions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25009537Soil water movementPlant water sourcesEcohydrological processesStable isotopesPoyang Lake wetland |
| spellingShingle | Shiyong Tao Jun Xia Junqiang Xia Xiaoqiang Chen Wenjun Lv Haijiao Gui Jing Xu Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China Ecological Indicators Soil water movement Plant water sources Ecohydrological processes Stable isotopes Poyang Lake wetland |
| title | Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China |
| title_full | Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China |
| title_fullStr | Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China |
| title_short | Stable water isotopes in soil–plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region, China |
| title_sort | stable water isotopes in soil plant systems reveals ecohydrological dynamics in a typical flood wetland in the subtropical monsoon region china |
| topic | Soil water movement Plant water sources Ecohydrological processes Stable isotopes Poyang Lake wetland |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25009537 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shiyongtao stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT junxia stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT junqiangxia stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT xiaoqiangchen stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT wenjunlv stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT haijiaogui stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina AT jingxu stablewaterisotopesinsoilplantsystemsrevealsecohydrologicaldynamicsinatypicalfloodwetlandinthesubtropicalmonsoonregionchina |