TY - JOUR
T1 - Stable isotopes contain substantial additive information about terrestrial carbon and water cycling
AU - Li, Bonan
AU - Good, Stephen P.
AU - Fiorella, Richard P.
AU - Finkenbiner, Catherine E.
AU - Bowen, Gabriel J.
AU - Noone, David C.
AU - Still, Christopher J.
AU - Anderegg, William R.L.
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - Stable isotope ratios of H (δ 2 H), O (δ 18O), and C (δ 13C) are linked to key biogeochemical processes of the water and carbon cycles; however, the degree to which isotope-associated processes are reflected in macroscale ecosystem flux observations remains unquantified. Here through formal information assessment, new measurements of δ 13C of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) as well as δ 2H and δ 18O of latent heat (LH) fluxes across the United States National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) are used to determine conditions under which isotope measurements are informative of environmental exchanges. We find all three isotopic datasets individually contain comparable amounts of information about NEE and LH fluxes as wind speed observations. Such information from isotope measurements, however, is largely unique. Generally, δ 13C provides more information about LH as aridity increases or mean annual precipitation decreases. δ 2H provides more information about LH as temperatures or mean annual precipitation decreases, and also provides more information about NEE as temperatures decrease. Overall, we show that the stable isotope datasets collected by NEON contribute non-trivial amounts of new information about bulk environmental fluxes useful for interpreting biogeochemical and ecohydrological processes at landscape scales. However, the utility of this new information varies with environmental conditions at continental scales. This study provides an approach for quantifying the value adding non-traditional sensing approaches to environmental monitoring sites and the patterns identified here are expected to aid in modeling and data interpretation efforts focused on constraining carbon and water cycles’ mechanisms.
AB - Stable isotope ratios of H (δ 2 H), O (δ 18O), and C (δ 13C) are linked to key biogeochemical processes of the water and carbon cycles; however, the degree to which isotope-associated processes are reflected in macroscale ecosystem flux observations remains unquantified. Here through formal information assessment, new measurements of δ 13C of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) as well as δ 2H and δ 18O of latent heat (LH) fluxes across the United States National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) are used to determine conditions under which isotope measurements are informative of environmental exchanges. We find all three isotopic datasets individually contain comparable amounts of information about NEE and LH fluxes as wind speed observations. Such information from isotope measurements, however, is largely unique. Generally, δ 13C provides more information about LH as aridity increases or mean annual precipitation decreases. δ 2H provides more information about LH as temperatures or mean annual precipitation decreases, and also provides more information about NEE as temperatures decrease. Overall, we show that the stable isotope datasets collected by NEON contribute non-trivial amounts of new information about bulk environmental fluxes useful for interpreting biogeochemical and ecohydrological processes at landscape scales. However, the utility of this new information varies with environmental conditions at continental scales. This study provides an approach for quantifying the value adding non-traditional sensing approaches to environmental monitoring sites and the patterns identified here are expected to aid in modeling and data interpretation efforts focused on constraining carbon and water cycles’ mechanisms.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85173153574&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1748-9326/acf4ab
DO - 10.1088/1748-9326/acf4ab
M3 - Article
SN - 1748-9318
VL - 18
JO - Environmental Research Letters
JF - Environmental Research Letters
IS - 9
M1 - 094065
ER -