Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (3): 445-455.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.03.11

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Comparative analysis of summer water sources of different shrubs on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains by MixSIAR and IsoSource models

LI Hongmei1(),Bahejiayinaer TIEMUERBIEKE2,CHANG Shunli1(),Gulihanati BOLATIBIEKE1,ZHANG Yutao3,4,LI Jimei3,4   

  1. 1. College of Ecology and Environment, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    2. College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046, Xinjiang, China
    3. Institute of Forest Ecology, Xinjiang Academy of Forestry, Urumqi 830063,Xinjiang, China
    4. Xinjiang Tianshan Forest Ecosystem National Positioning Observation Research Station, Urumqi 830063, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-06-01 Revised:2022-07-08 Online:2023-03-15 Published:2023-03-31

Abstract:

This study aims to provide reference for quantifying the selection model of plant water sources. MixSIAR model and IsoSource model are commonly used to quantify plant water sources by combining hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope technology. However, different models yield varying quantitative results. Hence, choosing the best model is important to reduce the uncertainty of results. In this work, the hydrogen and oxygen stable isotope compositions of stem xylem water and each potential water source of two shrubs were measured from July to September in 2019 and 2021. The dominant tree species Cotoneaster melanocarpus and Berberis heteropoda in the premontane shrub zone of the northern slope of Tianshan Mountain were selected as subjects. MixSIAR and IsoSource models were used to quantify plant water sources, and their results were compared and evaluated according to the root mean square error (RMSE) and parameter R. Results showed (1) differences in the quantification results of the two models for the main potential water sources of plants. These differences were related to the calculation principles of the two models. (2) Under the premise that the two models quantify the same main potential water sources of plants, the IsoSource model quantifies larger values than the MixSIAR model. (3) The results of RMSE and parameter R showed that the error of IsoSource model in quantifying plant water sources was smaller than that of MixSIAR model possibly due to the large difference between C. melanocarpus and B. heteropoda In summary, the MixSIAR model may be more accurate in quantifying the similarity of plant water sources than the IsoSource model.

Key words: hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes, water sources, MixSIAR model, IsoSource model, the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains