Oxygen isotope content of CO2 in nocturnal ecosystem respiration: 1. Observations in forests along a precipitation transect in Oregon, USA

[1] The oxygen isotope content of nocturnal ecosystem respiration (dOR) was examined in forests along a precipitation gradient in Oregon, USA, to determine whether site-to-site variation in dOR was more strongly related to variation in d O of precipitation or to evaporative processes that isotopically modify water pools within ecosystems. Measurements were made over 4 years at sites ranging in mean annual precipitation from 227 to 2760 mm. There was a gradient in the isotopic content (dO) of precipitation, with inland sites receiving isotopically depleted precipitation (more negative dO) relative to coastal sites. The dO of water in plant xylem generally followed the isotopic pattern of precipitation. Inland forests were drier than coastal forests, leading to a gradient in the vapor pressure deficit of air that caused isotopic enrichment of soil and leaf water. The enriched soil and leaf water pools influenced the isotopic composition of respired CO2, leading to variation in observed d OR (Keeling-plot intercepts). Keeling plots with non-significant (p > 0.01) regression slopes and those sampled over a time period (t) greater than 5 hours yielded unacceptably high uncertainty in dOR. The range of observed d OR was 21.7 to 35.3% (VSMOW), with variation within a single site as large as 10.7% (range 24.2 to 34.9% at different sites). The results suggested a trend of more positive dOR at inland sites relative to those nearer the coast, indicating that fractionation due to evaporative enrichment overshadowed the original isotopic composition of precipitation as a first order control on dOR.