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Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Design and Operation of a Continuous 13C and 15N Labeling Chamber for Uniform or Differential, Metabolic and Structural, Plant Isotope Labeling
Published on: January 16, 2014
Response of stable carbon isotope in epilithic mosses to atmospheric nitrogen deposition
Xue-Yan Liu1, Hua-Yun Xiao, Cong-Qiang Liu
1State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China. liuxueyan@vip.skleg.cn
Abstract:
Epilithic mosses are characterized by insulation from substratum N and hence meet their N demand only by deposited N. This study investigated tissue C, total Chl and delta13C of epilithic mosses along 2 transects across Guiyang urban (SW China), aiming at testing their responses to N deposition. Tissue C and total Chl decreased from the urban to rural, but delta13C(moss) became less negative. With measurements of atmospheric CO2 and delta13CO2, elevated N deposition was inferred as a primary factor for changes in moss C and isotopic signatures. Correlations between total Chl, tissue C and N signals indicated a nutritional effect on C fixation of epilithic mosses, but the response of delta13C(moss) to N deposition could not be clearly differentiated from effects of other factors. Collective evidences suggest that C signals of epilithic mosses are useful proxies for N deposition but further works on physiological mechanisms are still needed.
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