title: Leaf carbon isotope ratios of plants from a subtropical monsoon forest.
abstract: Carbon isotope ratios were used to survey the distribution of photosynthetic pathways among taxa, the relationship between photosynthetic pathway and habitat light levels, and the relationship between intercellular CO2levels of C3plants and habitat light levels within a subtropical monsoon forest in southern China. Of 128 species, most (94) possessed the C3photosynthetic pathway; 33 species possessed the C4pathway and all of these were restricted to high light locations. There was one epiphytic CAM species. The C3species were classified as occurring in open, intermediate, and closed canopy sites. Among C3species, carbon isotope ratios tended to become more negative with decreasing light availability in the habitat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Utah, 84112, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Ehleringer
authors.affiliation: South China Institute of Botany, Academic Sinica, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Z F
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Field
authors.affiliation: South China Institute of Botany, Academic Sinica, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: South China Institute of Botany, Academic Sinica, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Kuo
keywords: Intercellular CO2; Tropical forests-C3-C4-CAM