Abstract:

Stable isotopes are used as both natural integrators and tracers of complicated biological, ecological and biogeochemical processes, and their responses to environmental changes at different spatial and temporal scales. In this article, the application of stable isotopes and the Keeling plot approach to carbon and water exchange studies of terrestrial ecosystems were reviewed. We focused mainly on the current applications and potential development of stable isotope techniques and the Keeling plot approach in conjunction with concentration and flux measurements of CO₂ and water in terrestrial ecosystems. For these applications it is critical to know the isotopic identities of specific ecosystem components, such as the isotopic compositions of CO₂, organic matter, liquid water, and water vapor, as well as the associated isotopic fractionations, in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Based on the principle of mass conservation, the Keeling plot approach combines measurements of stable isotope ratios and concentrations of CO₂, water or other trace gases, and allows the identification of the contributions of various ecosystems, or ecosystem components, to the net exchange fluxes between the terrestrial biosphere and atmosphere, and the estimation of net ecosystem isotopic discrimination and disequilibrium effect. Net ecosystem carbon fluxes can be partitioned into C uptake during photosynthesis and C release during respiration or evapotranspiration into leaf transpiration and soil evaporation by the Keeling plot technique. This approach also allows partitioning urban CO₂ sources into gasoline combustion, natural gas combustion and biogenic respiration. Recent modifications of the Keeling plot approach permit examination of CO₂ recycling in forest ecosystems. At the global scale, we can estimate relative contributions of terrestrial and ocean ecosystems to the global carbon cycle by combining stable isotope techniques, the Keeling plot approach and terrestrial ecosystem models. However, applications of stable isotope techniques and the Keeling plot approach to ecological research are sometimes constrained by the heterogeneity of terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, selection of suitable isotopic sampling protocols is another factor that we should consider in its application. Nevertheless, with new improvements in analytic protocols in the near future, stable isotope techniques and the Keeling plot approach will become one of the most effective techniques for understanding carbon and water relationships in terrestrial ecosystems.

Key words: Stable isotopes, Keeling plot approach, Flux partitioning, CO₂ recycling