Articles | Volume 24, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3057-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-3057-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
10 Jun 2020
Research article |
| 10 Jun 2020
| 10 Jun 2020
Disentangling temporal and population variability in plant root water uptake from stable isotopic analysis: when rooting depth matters in labeling studies
Valentin Couvreur
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348, Belgium
Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-3 Agrosphere, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, 52425, Germany
Félicien Meunier
CAVElab – Computational and Applied Vegetation Ecology, Faculty of
Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Campus Coupure, Coupure Links 653, Gent,
9000, Belgium
Thierry Bariac
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IEES) – Paris, UMR 7618, CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Campus AgroParisTech, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
Philippe Biron
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IEES) – Paris, UMR 7618, CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Campus AgroParisTech, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
Jean-Louis Durand
Unité de Recherche Pluridisciplinaire Prairies et Plantes Fourragères (UR P3F), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Lusignan, 86600, France
Patricia Richard
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IEES) – Paris, UMR 7618, CNRS-Sorbonne Université, Campus AgroParisTech, Thiverval-Grignon, 78850, France
Mathieu Javaux
Earth and Life Institute (ELI), Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), Louvain-la-Neuve, 1348, Belgium
Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, IBG-3 Agrosphere, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, 52425, Germany
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Cited
13 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Plant water uptake modelling: added value of cross‐disciplinary approaches M. Dubbert et al. 10.1111/plb.13478
- Characterizing the heterogeneity of eastern hemlock xylem water isotopic compositions: Implications for the design of plant water uptake studies K. Li & J. Knighton 10.1002/eco.2571
- The Impact of Soil Tension on Isotope Fractionation, Transport, and Interpretations of the Root Water Uptake Origin T. Zhou et al. 10.1029/2022WR034023
- Root water uptake model shows age-related water uptake patterns of apple trees on the Chinese Loess Plateau Z. Tao et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101594
- Roots to the rescue: how plants harness hydraulic redistribution to survive drought across contrasting soil textures S. Sha et al. 10.1007/s44307-024-00050-8
- From hydraulic root architecture models to macroscopic representations of root hydraulics in soil water flow and land surface models J. Vanderborght et al. 10.5194/hess-25-4835-2021
- Root water uptake under heterogeneous soil moisture conditions: an experimental study for unraveling compensatory root water uptake and hydraulic redistribution A. Thomas et al. 10.1007/s11104-020-04738-3
- Quantitative Stable Isotope Tracing of Water Uptake in Cynanchum sibiricum during Its Growth Period in Arid Areas of Northwest China H. Dong et al. 10.3390/w14091422
- Toward a common methodological framework for the sampling, extraction, and isotopic analysis of water in the Critical Zone to study vegetation water use N. Ceperley et al. 10.1002/wat2.1727
- Response of a grassland species to dry environmental conditions from water stable isotopic monitoring: no evident shift in root water uptake to wetter soil layers P. Deseano Diaz et al. 10.1007/s11104-022-05703-y
- The natural abundance of stable water isotopes method may overestimate deep-layer soil water use by trees S. Wang et al. 10.5194/hess-27-123-2023
- Contrasting adaptive strategies by Caragana korshinskii and Salix psammophila in a semiarid revegetated ecosystem Y. Zhao et al. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108323
- Challenges in studying water fluxes within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum: A tracer-based perspective on pathways to progress N. Orlowski et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163510
13 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Plant water uptake modelling: added value of cross‐disciplinary approaches M. Dubbert et al. 10.1111/plb.13478
- Characterizing the heterogeneity of eastern hemlock xylem water isotopic compositions: Implications for the design of plant water uptake studies K. Li & J. Knighton 10.1002/eco.2571
- The Impact of Soil Tension on Isotope Fractionation, Transport, and Interpretations of the Root Water Uptake Origin T. Zhou et al. 10.1029/2022WR034023
- Root water uptake model shows age-related water uptake patterns of apple trees on the Chinese Loess Plateau Z. Tao et al. 10.1016/j.ejrh.2023.101594
- Roots to the rescue: how plants harness hydraulic redistribution to survive drought across contrasting soil textures S. Sha et al. 10.1007/s44307-024-00050-8
- From hydraulic root architecture models to macroscopic representations of root hydraulics in soil water flow and land surface models J. Vanderborght et al. 10.5194/hess-25-4835-2021
- Root water uptake under heterogeneous soil moisture conditions: an experimental study for unraveling compensatory root water uptake and hydraulic redistribution A. Thomas et al. 10.1007/s11104-020-04738-3
- Quantitative Stable Isotope Tracing of Water Uptake in Cynanchum sibiricum during Its Growth Period in Arid Areas of Northwest China H. Dong et al. 10.3390/w14091422
- Toward a common methodological framework for the sampling, extraction, and isotopic analysis of water in the Critical Zone to study vegetation water use N. Ceperley et al. 10.1002/wat2.1727
- Response of a grassland species to dry environmental conditions from water stable isotopic monitoring: no evident shift in root water uptake to wetter soil layers P. Deseano Diaz et al. 10.1007/s11104-022-05703-y
- The natural abundance of stable water isotopes method may overestimate deep-layer soil water use by trees S. Wang et al. 10.5194/hess-27-123-2023
- Contrasting adaptive strategies by Caragana korshinskii and Salix psammophila in a semiarid revegetated ecosystem Y. Zhao et al. 10.1016/j.agrformet.2021.108323
- Challenges in studying water fluxes within the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum: A tracer-based perspective on pathways to progress N. Orlowski et al. 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163510
Latest update: 06 Jul 2025
Short summary
Isotopic labeling of soil water is a broadly used tool for tracing the origin of water extracted by plants and computing root water uptake (RWU) profiles with multisource mixing models. In this study, we show how a method such as this may misconstrue time series of xylem water isotopic composition as the temporal dynamics of RWU by simulating data collected during a tall fescue rhizotron experiment with an isotope-enabled physical soil–root model accounting for variability in root traits.
Isotopic labeling of soil water is a broadly used tool for tracing the origin of water extracted...
