Isotopic approach to trace water and nutrient dynamics in forest soils

Approche isotopique pour tracer la dynamique de l’eau et des nutriments dans les sols forestiers

Anne Poszwa (1) , Arnaud A. Legout (2) , Jean-Paul Laclau (3) , Michel Vennetier (4) , Pierre-Joseph Hatton (2) , David Achat (5) , Lea Bedel (2) , Jacques J. Ranger (2)

1 LIEC - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux
2 BEF - Unité de recherche Biogéochimie des Ecosystèmes Forestiers
3 UMR Eco&Sols - Ecologie fonctionnelle et biogéochimie des sols et des agro-écosystèmes
4 IRSTEA - Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture
5 UMR ISPA - Interactions Sol Plante Atmosphère

Forest soil fertility is generally estimated by studying the water and nutrient cycles essential to living organisms (i.e. biogeochemical cycles). Use of geochemical and/or isotopic tracers is an innovative, complementary approach to more traditional studies. Experimental procedures and results of some recent studies in forest ecosystems using natural tracers (e.g. 18O, 13C, 26Mg) or artificially supplied tracers (e.g. enrichment in Sr, Rb, 15N, 44Ca, 26Mg, 32P) are presented. Results are discussed in terms of relevance for using these tools to identify sources, to estimate residence times of water and elements, and to trace nutrient fluxes, of both organic and mineral origins, that are internal or external to the ecosystem.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Sciences de l'environnement

Anne Poszwa, Arnaud A. Legout, Jean-Paul Laclau, Michel Vennetier, Pierre-Joseph Hatton, et al.. Isotopic approach to trace water and nutrient dynamics in forest soils. 2014, pp.59-71. ⟨10.4267/2042/56265⟩. ⟨hal-02798485⟩