Stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) are widely used as climate proxies for assessing and predicting climatic information at an annual resolution. However, the detailed information in the isotopes that results from intra-annual climate scenarios and is associated with mineral accumulation remains unclear. Combined with investigations of elements and ash contents, variations in foliar δ13C in relation to annual, winter and summer climate scenarios were investigated in a dendroclimatologically important tree species Sabina przewalskii Kom. Foliar δ13C exhibited a significant negative correlation with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and mean annual relative humidity as well as significant positive correlations with elevation. Climatic factors in winter and summer have opposite effects on the variation of δ13C. The beneficial mineral element Si had a significant positive correlation with foliar δ13C, whereas the essential mineral elements K, Ca, and Mg did not. Specifically, Si and δ13C have similar correlations with climate factors and elevation. These results suggest that measurement of Si content has a similar potential to δ13C for use as an alternative climate indicator when detailed climatic information may otherwise be limited and provide a basis for understanding the integration of δ13C in plant responses to climate.
Keywords: Carbon isotope; Environmental limitation; Mineral element; Sabina przewalskii Kom.; Silicon.
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.