Articles | Volume 30, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-4757-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-30-4757-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jul 2026
Research article |
| 28 Jul 2026
| 28 Jul 2026
Continuous in situ monitoring of a labeled-water pulse through a boreal Scots pine forest: vertical and horizontal fluxes
Department of Geosciences, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
Department of Matters and Energy Fluxes, Global Change Research Institute, 60300 Brno, Czechia
Maren Dubbert
Isotope Biogeochemistry and Gas Fluxes, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural and Landscape Research (ZALF), 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Teresa E. Gimeno
CREAF, 08193 Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
Ruth-Kristina Magh
Terrestrial Ecohydrology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07749 Jena, Germany
Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 901 83 Umeå, Sweden
Kathrin Kühnhammer
Ecosystem Physiology, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
David Dubbert
Isotope Biogeochemistry and Gas Fluxes, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural and Landscape Research (ZALF), 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Paul Koeniger
Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), 30655 Hannover, Germany
Matthias Cuntz
Université de Lorraine, AgroParisTech, INRAE, UMR Silva, 54000 Nancy, France
TU Braunschweig, IGÖ – Abt. Umweltgeochemie, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
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This research utilizes high-spatiotemporal-resolution soil and vegetation measurements, including water stable isotopes, within an ecohydrological model to partition water flux dynamics and identify flow paths and durations. Results showed high vegetation water use and high spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation water source and vegetation isotopes. The evaluation of these dynamics further revealed relatively fast flow paths through both shallow soil and vegetation.
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Using water stable isotopes, we studied from which water source (lake water, stream water, groundwater, or soil water) two willows were taking their water. We monitored the environmental conditions (e.g. air temperature and soil moisture) and the behaviour of the trees (water flow in the stem). We found that the most likely water sources of the willows were the upper soil layers but that there were seasonal dynamics.
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Short summary
Water transport in forest soils occurs both vertically and horizontally. We added a stable isotope label to a small forest plot and monitored its passage vertically into the soil and horizontally into stems of surrounding trees. The labelled water was detected in the upper layers of the soil and in trees up to 6.7 m away, but was mostly taken up by one tree adjacent to the plot. These results affect how we think about summing over individual trees to describe the water economy of a whole forest.
Water transport in forest soils occurs both vertically and horizontally. We added a stable...
