Environmental and Physiological Controls on Plant Leaf Wax δD from Western Greenland

Abstract:

Hydrogen isotope ratios of leaf waxes are increasingly used to reconstruct past hydroclimate, but the interpretation of these signatures from ancient sedimentary archives relies on a thorough understanding of the drivers of isotope variability in modern environments. These studies are particularly valuable in the arctic and subarctic, regions particularly vulnerable to rapid climate change, but where modern vegetation is understudied compared to proxy applications reliant on vegetation. Here we present δD values from leaf wax compounds of tundra vegetation in the Kangerlussuaq area of western Greenland. We collected samples along a transect that follows 12 sites from the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet, around a small lake (‘Bird Lake’) and to the town of Kangerlussuaq, along the Sandflugtdalen (‘Flying Sand Valley’). We collected a variety of common tundra species in these locations including dwarf shrubs (e.g. Betula nana, Rhododendron lapponica, and Salix glauca), forbs and graminoids (e.g. Calamagrostis lapponica and Eriophorum angustifolium), and horsetails (Equisetum arvense) to study possible interspecies isotopic variability. We measured leaf and stem waters of these plants to help constrain potential drivers of leaf wax n-alkane δD values across this transect. Results are discussed relative to local climate parameters and modelled precipitation values to elucidate source water contributions modified by evaporation and transpiration. This survey of δD values from leaf wax compounds and plant waters in western Greenland will extend stable isotope calibrations to tundra vegetation and provide insights into the use of sedimentary leaf wax compounds for reconstruction of paleohydroclimate.