Prediction of delta(13)C and delta(15)N in plant tissues with near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy.
Isotope measurements associated with critical plant resources, such as carbon and nitrogen, have helped deepen the ecological understanding of plant resource acquisition and plant interactions. In this study, we tested the appropriateness of near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for the estimation of stable isotope ratios for nitrogen and carbon of plant tissues. delta(13)C and delta(15)N, as well as total carbon (Ct) and nitrogen (Nt), in leaf tissues of a heterogeneous set of 72 samples of seven bog species from southern Patagonia were determined. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy calibrations were developed using partial least-squares regressions and tested by a cross-validation procedure. For each variable, three calibrations were calculated: one with nontransformed data and two with transformations (first and second derivative). Ct and Nt, as well as delta(13)C and delta(15)N, were well predicted by our calibration models. The correlation coefficients of predicted vs actual values of the best calibration models were as follows: 0.95 (Ct), 0.99 (Nt), 0.89 (delta(13)C) and 0.99 (delta(15)N). The cross-validation procedure confirmed the high estimation quality of the calibrations. The results obtained underpin the great potential of the near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy technique in ecological studies as an alternative to more expensive and time-consuming standard methods.
Kleinebecker
Till
T
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Straße 26, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Schmidt
Sebastian R
SR
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Straße 26, 48149 Münster, Germany.
Fritz
Christian
C
Environmental Biology, Department of Ecology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Smolders
Alfons J P
AJP
Environmental Biology, Department of Ecology, Radboud University Nijmegen, Toernooiveld 1, 6525 ED Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Hölzel
Norbert
N
Institute of Landscape Ecology, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Straße 26, 48149 Münster, Germany.
D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D002677:Chile; D004463:Ecology / Q000379:methods; D017753:Ecosystem; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes
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