Carbon isotopic ratios of modern C3 and C4 vegetation on the Indian peninsula and changes along the plant–soil–river continuum – implications for vegetation reconstructions
Authors: Kirkels Frédérique M. S. A. , de Boer Hugo J. , Concha Hernández Paulina , Martes Chris R. T. , van der Meer Marcel T. J. , Basu Sayak , Usman Muhammed O. , Peterse Francien 
Published: September 2022

Abstract. The large difference in the fractionation of stable carbon isotopes between
C3 and C4 plants is widely used in vegetation reconstructions, where the
predominance of C3 plants suggests wetter and that of C4 plants drier
conditions. The stable carbon isotopic composition of organic carbon (OC)
preserved in soils or sediments may be a valuable (paleo-)environmental
indicator, based on the assumption that plant-derived material retains the
stable carbon isotopic value of its photosynthetic pathway during transfer
from plant to sediment. In this study, we investigated the bulk carbon
isotopic values of C3 and C4 plants (δ13C) and of organic
carbon (δ13Corg) in soils, river suspended particulate
matter (SPM) and riverbed sediments to gain insight into the control of
precipitation on C3 and C4 plant δ13C values and to assess
changes in δ13Corg values along the plant–soil–river
continuum. This information allows us to elucidate the implications of
different δ13C end-members on C3 / C4 vegetation reconstructions.
Our analysis was performed in the Godavari River basin, located in the core
monsoon zone in peninsular India, a region that integrates the hydroclimatic
and vegetation changes caused by variation in monsoonal strength. The basin
has distinct wet and dry seasons and is characterised by natural gradients
in soil type (from clay-rich to sandy), precipitation (∼ 500 to 1500 mm yr−1) and vegetation type (from mixed C3 / C4 to primarily C3)
from the upper to the lower basin. The δ13C values of
Godavari C3 plants were strongly controlled by mean annual precipitation
(MAP), showing an isotopic enrichment of ∼ 2.2 ‰ from ∼ 1500 to 500 mm yr−1. Tracing
δ13Corg values from plant to soils and rivers revealed
that soils and riverbed sediments reflected the transition from mixed C3 and
C4 vegetation in the dry upper basin to more C3 vegetation in the humid
lower basin. Soil degradation and stabilisation processes and hydrodynamic
sorting within the river altered the plant-derived δ13C signal.
Phytoplankton dominated the δ13Corg signal carried by SPM
in the dry season and year-round in the upper basin. Application of a linear
mixing model showed that the %C4 plants in the different subbasins was
∼ 7 %–15 % higher using plant end-members based on
measurement of the Godavari vegetation and tailored to local moisture
availability than using those derived from data compilations of global
vegetation. Including a correction for the 13C enrichment in Godavari
C3 plants due to drought resulted in maximally 6 % lower estimated C4 plant
cover. Our results from the Godavari basin underline the importance of
making informed choices about the plant δ13C end-members for
vegetation reconstructions, considering characteristics of the regional
vegetation and environmental factors such as MAP in monsoonal regions.