Stable Isotope Fluxes of CO2 and H2O for a Temperate Deciduous Forest in Canada

Stable isotopes of carbon dioxide and water vapor, including 13CO2, C18O16O, HDO and H218O have been used to study the carbon and water cycle. These stable isotopes are particularly useful to separate the contribution of different ecosystem components to the net flux. For example, 13CO2 can be applied as a tracer at sites where soil organic matter and plants present a different isotopic ratio. C18O16O can be used to partitioning soil from foliar respiration, since leaf water is significantly enriched in 18O during the day as a result of leaf transpiration. Continuous measurements of CO2 and H2O exchange and their isotopic values in ecosystems are necessary to better understand the processes related to isotope discrimination. The objective of this study was to investigate the isotopic fluxes of CO2 and H2O continuously in a temperate deciduous forest. The experiment was conducted at the Environment Canada research station, Camp Borden, ON, Canada from June to August 2009. Mixing ratios of C16O2, 13CO2, C18O16O, H216O, HDO and H218O in the sampled air were measured continuously using two tunable diode laser trace gas analyzers (TGA 100A, Campbell Sci., UT, USA). Air was sampled at two heights above the canopy and two heights in the under-storey. The TGA mixing ratio measurements were calibrated by regularly measuring tanks with known concentrations of CO2 isotopic species and water vapor of known isotopic ratios. Atmospheric carbon dioxide (δ13C, and δ18O) and water vapor isotope ratios were calculated, and the isotope signatures of CO2 (δ13N and δ18N) and water vapor flux were obtained based on the flux ratio method. Atmospheric δ13C ranged from -7 (during daytime) to -10 per mil during nighttime, while δ18O values ranged from -1 to -3 per mil. The isotope ratio of the CO2 fluxes in the overstorey ranged from -15 to -22 per mil for δ18N and -22 to -32 per mil for δ13N. These preliminary data will be discussed in light of H2O vapor and flux isotopic ratio measurements carried out at the same site.