Nature Environment and Pollution Technology

Jinghao Li ¹, Jifeng Deng ¹, Yongbin Zhou ¹, You Yin ¹, Yawei Wei ¹, Yanli Jing ¹, Ruohan Zhang ²

Affiliations
1 Forestry College, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110866, CN
2 Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, 156-8502, JP

Abstract

This study aimed to make a reasonable use of forests in Liaoning province. By using C-isotope (leaf δ¹³C value) as an index for long-term water-use efficiency (WUE), we evaluated the WUE of three typical afforestation tree species, namely, Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica, Pinus tabulaeformis, and Quercus mongolica. We then determined their response to environmental factors, such as annual average precipitation, annual average air temperature, altitude, and soil nutrient. Results of linear regression analysis indicate that (1) the δ¹³C values of the three tree species were -30.37‰ to - 23.51‰, and the δ¹³C values in their leaves decreased with the longitudes. (2) The δ¹³C values in the leaves of the three tree species were significantly influenced by the annual average precipitation and altitude, i.e., the δ¹³C values decreased significantly with the annual average precipitation and increased with altitude, although the δ¹³C values in their leaves were less influenced by the annual average air temperature. (3) Except soil nutrients, such as calcium contents, which showed no obvious relationship with δ¹³C of Q. mongolica, P. sylvestris and P. tabulaeformis were significantly affected by soil nutrients. This work was the first to investigate the WUE of the three tree species mentioned above. This study also explored the main factors influencing WUE. Overall, our findings may facilitate future scientific studies on WUE based on δ¹³C, and these studies will be beneficial to environmental protection.

Keywords

δ¹³C, Water-Use Efficiency, Afforestation, Environmental Factors, Soil Nutrient.

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