Illuminating hydrological processes at the soil‐vegetation‐atmosphere interface with water stable isotopes

Abstract Water stable isotopes ( 18 O and 2 H) are widely used as ideal tracers to track water through the soil and to separate evaporation from transpiration. Due to the technical developments in the last two decades, soil water stable isotope data have become easier to collect. Thus, the application of isotope methods in soils is growing rapidly. Studies that make use of soil water stable isotopes often have a multidisciplinary character since an interplay of processes that take place in the vadose zone has to be considered. In this review, we provide an overview of the hydrological processes that alter the soil water stable isotopic composition and present studies utilizing pore water stable isotopes. The…

• DF
  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
• HZ
  Helmholtz Zentrum München