A HF‐free sample preparation method was used to purify silicon in twelve geological RMs. Silicon isotope compositions were determined using a Neptune instrument multi‐collector‐ICP‐MS in high‐resolution mode, which allowed separation of the silicon isotope plateaus from their interferences. A 1 μg g‐1 Mg spike was added to each sample and standard solution for online mass bias drift correction. δ30Si and δ29Si values are expressed in per mil (‰), relative to the NIST SRM 8546 (NBS‐28) international isotopic RM. The total variation of δ30Si in the geological reference samples analysed in this study ranged from ‐0.13‰ to ‐0.29‰. Comparison with δ29Si values shows that these isotopic fractionations were mass dependent. IRMM‐17 yielded a δ30Si value of ‐1.41 ± 0.07‰ (2s, n = 12) in agreement with previous data. The long‐term reproducibility for natural samples obtained on BHVO‐2 yielded δ30Si = ‐0.27 ± 0.08‰ (2s, n = 42) on a 12 month time scale. An in‐house Si reference sample was produced to check for the long‐term reproducibility of a mono‐elemental sample solution; this yielded a comparable uncertainty of ± 0.07‰ (2s, n = 24) over 5 months.

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Assessing the dynamics of the silica cycle in the critical zone remains challenging, particularly within the soil, where multiple processes are involved. To improve our understanding of this cycle in the Tropics, and more specifically the role played by vegetation, we combined elemental Si mass balance with the  30 Si signatures of the compartments involved in the water-plant-rock interactions of a tropical forested watershed, Mule Hole (Southern India). To accomplish this, we analysed (1) the  30 Si values of presentday litter phytoliths from tree leaves and grass, as well as soil amorphous silica (ASi); (2) the Si isotope fractionation induced by phytolith dissolution; (3) the silicon mass balance inferred from isotopes at the soil-plant scale; and (4) the consistency between water sources and the  30 Si signatures in the ephemeral stream. The  30 Si values of present-day litter phytoliths and soil ASi vary within a narrow range of 1.10 to 1.40 ‰ for all samples, but two deep vertisol samples which likely trapped phytoliths from different vegetation growing under more humid conditions, as indicated by pollen analysis. A homogeneous signature of litter is a minimum condition for using  30 Si as a

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