Stable isotope ratios of carbon (delta(13)C) and oxygen (delta(18)O) are increasingly used to investigate environmental influences on plant physiology. Cellulose is often isolated for isotopic studies, but some authors have questioned the value of this process. We studied trends in delta(13)C and delta(18)O of whole foliage and holocellulose from seedlings of three Pinus species across three overstory environments to evaluate the benefits of holocellulose extraction in the context of a traditional ecological experiment. Both tissue types showed increasing delta(13)C from closed-canopy controls to thinned plots to 0.3 ha canopy gaps, and no change in delta(18)O between overstory environments. delta(13)C of P. resinosa and P. strobus was greater than delta(13)C of P. banksiana in whole foliage and holocellulose samples, and there were no differences in delta(18)O associated with species in either tissue type. Our results suggest whole foliage and holocellulose provide similar information about isotopic trends across broad environmental gradients and between species, but holocellulose may be better suited for studying differences in stable isotope composition between multiple species across several treatments.