title: Oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of silage water.
abstract: Silage is an important dietary water source that influences the oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of domestic herbivores and their products. Silage sampled fresh from the silo had (18)O- and (2)H-depleted tissue water when compared with fresh pasture grass sampled around midday during the silage-making seasons. During exposure in the feed bunk, silage water became increasingly enriched in (18)O and (2)H. When δ(18)O was plotted against δ(2)H, the slope of the regression was less during daytime than during night-time. Exposure to (18)O- and (2)H-enriched or -depleted water vapor inside sealed glass containers led to strong changes in the isotope composition of silage water. The results resembled predictions from the Craig-Gordon isotope model of evaporation. The atmospheric conditions during exposure (relative humidity, exposure time, and isotopic composition of the air vapor) in the feed bunk thus strongly affect the isotopic composition of silage water ingested by domestic herbivores.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Grünlandlehre, Technische Universität München , Alte Akademie 12, Freising-Weihenstephan 85350, Germany.
authors.forename: Luanzi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Auerswald
authors.forename: Rudi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schäufele
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schnyder
mesh_terms: D003903:Deuterium / Q000032:analysis; D010103:Oxygen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D012820:Silage / Q000032:analysis*; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010103:Oxygen Isotopes; D014867:Water; D003903:Deuterium