Leaf δ13C of different plant functional groups (trees, shrubs and forbs; evergreen and deciduous; annual, biennial and perennial) were examined on the Changbai Mountains, China. Life form has a significant influence on plant δ13C, suggesting that leaf δ13C is also ideal for distinguishing functional groups species in temperate and frigid zones with high humidity. Additionally, the difference of water-use efficiency (WUE) is significant among different plant functional groups. δ13C and WUE are in the following order of forbs < shrubs < trees. Within shrubs, δ13C and WUE are higher for evergreen shrubs than deciduous shrubs. Differences in δ13C and WUE are significant among different lifespan herbs, and δ13C and WUE follow the order of annual herbs > biennial herbs > perennial herbs, not in accordance with the pattern obtained by previous studies in deserts, suggesting that the ranking of δ13C and WUE among annual, biennial and perennial herbs may be dependent on local water availability.
TAN WenBingWANG GuoAnHAN JiaMaoLIU MinZHOU LiPingLUO TingCAO ZiYuCHENG ShuZhi
