Obtaining the d-excess parameter from oxygen and hydrogen stable isotope composition of meteoric waters has the potential power to reconstruct changes in atmospheric water pools (e,g. sources, origins and overall balance) and the climatic conditions that prevail during surface evaporation. Recently, plant and ecosystem scientists turned their attention using d-excess information to inform questions at these scales. Here, we use the d-excess parameter to evaluate the influence of forest canopies on atmospheric humidity within a mixed evergreen forest in coastal California. We found that during the day, when transpiration was at a maximum, the d-excess of atmospheric water vapour exceeded model predictions for the background atmosphere into which the ecosystem evapotranspiration mixes. At night when transpiration was minor, the d-excess of atmospheric water vapour was on average less than model predictions for an ocean derived water vapour source. The observed diurnal fluctuations around the d-excess of the modelled background water vapour provided a strong evidence that during the day as the land surface warms and the boundary layer grows plants alter the isotope composition of atmospheric humidity via non-steady state isotope effects. In contrast, at night equilibrium isotope effects dominate as the atmosphere stabilizes. These day and nighttime fluctuations around the d-excess of ocean derived water vapour highlight the importance of plant transpiration for the isotope hydrology of near surface humidity and subsequently for the isotope composition of condensate like dew, an important water input to this ecosystem.

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.