Articles | Volume 27, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-123-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-123-2023
Research article
 | 
04 Jan 2023
Research article |  | 04 Jan 2023

The natural abundance of stable water isotopes method may overestimate deep-layer soil water use by trees

Shaofei Wang, Xiaodong Gao, Min Yang, Gaopeng Huo, Xiaolin Song, Kadambot H. M. Siddique, Pute Wu, and Xining Zhao

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Cited articles

Barbeta, A., Mejia-Chang, M., Ogaya, R., Voltas, J., Dawson, T. E., and Penuelas, J.: The combined effects of a long-term experimental drought and an extreme drought on the use of plant-water sources in a Mediterranean forest, Global Change Biol., 21, 1213–1225, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12785, 2015. 
Barbeta, A., Jones, S. P., Clavé, L., Wingate, L., Gimeno, T. E., Fréjaville, B., Wohl, S., and Ogée, J.: Unexplained hydrogen isotope offsets complicate the identification and quantification of tree water sources in a riparian forest, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2129–2146, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2129-2019, 2019. 
Barbeta, A., Burlett, R., Martín-Gómez, P., Fréjaville, B., Devert, N., Wingate, L., Domec, J.-C., and Ogée, J.: Evidence for distinct isotopic compositions of sap and tissue water in tree stems: consequences for plant water source identification, New Phytol., 233, 1121–1132, https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17857, 2022. 
Beyer, M., Koeniger, P., Gaj, M., Hamutoko, J. T., Wanke, H., and Himmelsbach, T.: A deuterium-based labeling technique for the investigation of rooting depths, water uptake dynamics and unsaturated zone water transport in semiarid environments, J. Hydrol., 533, 627–643, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.12.037, 2016. 
Beyer, M., Hamutoko, J. T., Wanke, H., Gaj, M., and Koeniger, P.: Examination of deep root water uptake using anomalies of soil water stable isotopes, depth-controlled isotopic labeling and mixing models, J. Hydrol., 566, 122–136, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.08.060, 2018. 
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Short summary
Water uptake depth of 11-year-old apple trees reached 300 cm in the blossom and young fruit stage and only 100 cm in the fruit swelling stage, while 17-year-old trees always consumed water from 0–320 cm soil layers. Overall, the natural abundance of stable water isotopes method overestimated the contribution of deep soil water, especially in the 320–500 cm soils. Our findings highlight that determining the occurrence of root water uptake in deep soils helps to quantify trees' water use strategy.