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Carbon Isotope Ratios Of Soil Organic Matter And Their Use In Assessing Community Composition Changes In Curlew Valley, Utah, Ronald S. Dzurec

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Stable carbon isotope ratios of soils, roots and litter along transects stretching from nearly monospecific stands of Ceratoides lanata, a species possessing C₃ photosynthesis, to nearly monospecific stands of Atriplex confertifolia, a species possessing C₄ photosynthesis, were analyzed to determine if changes in the relative dominance of the shrubs have occurred in salt-desert communities. The 𝛿¹³C value , which reflects the proportion of ¹²C and ¹³C in a sample of plant tissue, can be used to distinguish between C₃ and C₄ species. Atriolex confertifolia and Ceratoides lanata have 𝛿^{13 …}