The effect of 18 O-labelled water vapour on the oxygen isotope ratio of water and assimilates in plants at high humidity.

Our understanding of how temporal variations of atmospheric water vapour and its isotopic composition (δ18 OV ) influence water and assimilates in plants remains limited, restricting our ability to use δ18 O as a tracer of ecophysiological processes. We exposed oak (Quercus robur) saplings under wet and dry soil moisture conditions to 18 O-depleted water vapour (c. - 200‰) at high relative humidity (c. 93%) for 5 h, simulating a fog event. We then traced the step change in δ18 OV into water and assimilates (e.g. sucrose, hexoses, quercitol and starch) in the leaf lamina, main veins and twigs over 24 h. The immediate δ18 OV effect was highest for δ18 O of leaf lamina water, but 40% lower on δ18 O of main vein water. To a smaller extent, we also observed changes in δ18 O of twig xylem water. Depending on the individual assimilation rate of each plant, the 18 O-label was partitioned among different assimilates, with highest changes in δ18 O of starch/sucrose and lowest in δ18 O of quercitol. Additionally, 18 O-label partitioning and allocation towards leaf starch and twig phloem sugars was influenced by the plant water status. Our results have important implications for water isotope heterogeneity in plants and for our understanding of how the δ18 O signal is incorporated into biomarkers.