Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
Oecologia. 2010 Apr;162(4):837-52. doi: 10.1007/s00442-009-1514-7. Epub 2009 Dec 3.
Plant C and N isotope values often correlate with rainfall on global and regional scales. This study examines the relationship between plant isotopic values and rainfall in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The results indicate significant correlations between both C and N isotope values and rainfall in C(3) plant communities. This significant relationship is maintained when plant communities are divided by plant life forms. Furthermore, a seasonal increase in C isotope values is observed during the dry season while N isotope values remain stable across the wet and dry seasons. Finally, the isotopic pattern in plants originating from desert environments differs from those from Mediterranean environments because some desert plants obtain most of their water from secondary sources, namely water channeled by local topographic features rather than direct rainfall. From these results it can be concluded that water availability is the primary factor controlling C and N isotope variability in plant communities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
植物的碳和氮同位素值通常与全球和区域范围内的降雨量相关。本研究考察了东地中海地区植物同位素值与降雨量之间的关系。结果表明，在 C3 植物群落中，碳和氮同位素值与降雨量之间存在显著相关性。当按照植物生活型对植物群落进行划分时，这种显著关系仍然存在。此外，在旱季期间，C 同位素值呈季节性增加，而氮同位素值在湿季和旱季保持稳定。最后，起源于沙漠环境的植物的同位素模式与起源于地中海环境的植物的同位素模式不同，因为一些沙漠植物的大部分水分来自次要来源，即通过当地地形特征输送的水，而不是直接的降雨。从这些结果可以得出结论，水的可用性是控制东地中海地区植物群落中碳和氮同位素变化的主要因素。
