Source water used by plants of several species in a semi-evergreen lowland tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, was assessed by comparing the relative abundance of deuterium, D, versus hydrogen, H (stable hydrogen isotope composition, δD) in xylem sap and in soil water at different depths, during the dry season of 1992. Ecological correlates of source water were examined by comparing xylem water δD values with leaf phenology, leaf water status determined with a pressure chamber, and rates of water use determined as mass flow of sap using the stem heat balance method. Soil water δD values decreased sharply to 30 cm, then remained relatively constant with increasing depth. Average δD values were-13‰, for 0-30 cm depth and-36.7‰ for 30-100 cm depth. Soil water δD values were negatively associated with soil water content and soil water potential. Concurrent analyses of xylem water revealed a high degree of partitioning of water resources among species of this tropical forest. Xylem water δD of deciduous trees (average=-25.3±1.4‰) was higher than that of evergreen trees (average=-36.3±3.5‰), indicating that evergreen species had access to the more abundant soil water at greater depth than deciduous species. In evergreen shade-tolerant and high-light requiring shrubs and small trees, δD of xylem water was negatively correlated with transpiration rate and leaf water potential indicating that species using deeper, more abundant water resources had both higher rates of water use and more favorable leaf water status.

Summary 1.We report hydraulic lift in the savanna vegetation of central Brazil ( Cerrado ). Both heat-pulse measurements and isotopic (deuterium) labelling were used to determine whether hydraulic lift occurred in two common species, and whether neighbouring small shrubs and trees were utilizing this water. 2. Both techniques showed water uptake by tap-roots and reverse flow of water in lateral roots. Roots transferred hydraulically lifted water to the soil, and small shrubs and trees neighbouring the labelled individuals were labelled by deuterated water. 3. Isotopic mass-balance equations and sap-flow measurements showed that water taken up by the central tap-root in each individual constituted only a small percentage of total flux of water through the treated plants. Mass-balance equations also indicated that small shrubs and trees neighbouring the treated plants utilized only a few thousandths of a per cent of the label. 4 . The small proportion of water uptake by the tap-root of these two species may be limiting hydraulic lift in this system, unless sinker roots descending from lateral roots contribute to hydraulic lift.

No presente estudo, comparou-se o curso diário de fluxo de seiva, condutância estomática e potencial hídrico (psi) de duas espécies sempre-verdes, Rapanea guianensis e Roupala montana. Os dados foram obtidos no final da estação seca, quando os efeitos do déficit hídrico seriam mais acentuados. As medidas foram realizadas no campo sujo, onde predomina gramíneas com sistemas radiculares superficiais, e no cerradão, em que a maior densidade de elementos lenhosos com sistemas radiculares profundos poderia levar a um esgotamento das reservas de água do subsolo na estação seca. Valores máximos de psinão diferiram para as duas espécies nas duas fisionomias estudadas. Os valores mínimos de potencial hídrico foliar de R. guianensis foram mais negativos (P<0,05) para as plantas do cerradão, enquanto os valores para R. montana não apresentaram diferenças entre as duas fisionomias. Os resultados indicaram que não existem diferenças significativas (P > 0,05) entre os valores de fluxo máximo e de fluxo total entre o campo sujo e cerradão. Os valores máximos de fluxo de seiva variaram entre 0,13 e 0,22 l. h-1 para R. guianensis e entre 0,15 e 0,54 l. h-1 para R. montana. Entretanto, as duas espécies, tanto no campo sujo quanto no cerradão, apresentaram um rígido controle estomático em relação à alta demanda evaporativa da atmosfera. O fluxo de seiva aumentou bruscamente pela manhã, alcançando rapidamente valores máximos entre 8 e 10 horas, e logo após decresceu severamente, apesar do crescente aumento da radiação solar e da demanda evaporativa da atmosfera.