Isotopic values of plants in relation to water availability in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Hartman, Gideon; Danin, Avinoam

doi:10.1007/s00442-009-1514-7

Cited by 208 publications

(186 citation statements)

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“…Although in arid to semiarid environments other factors, such as crop density and soil salinity, may play a role in causing a drought stress signal in the plant, the strongest correlation of stable carbon isotope data in plants exists with water availability (27)(28)(29). Variability of δ 13 C measurements in archaeobotanical cereal grains occurs at different levels.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant stable carbon isotope values correlate with rainfall at global and regional scales, with the regional scale producing the stronger correlation (27) as well as throughout time (23). Because there is a positive spatial autocorrelation for precipitation, we assumed a positive spatiotemporal autocorrelation for the Δ 13 C values of barley grains (59).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This method is an established tool for identifying ancient environmental conditions for plant growth in arid to semiarid environments because δ 13 C values in cereals provide a drought-stress signal when the amount of water received during the grain-filling period is low (21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26). Carbon fixation during photosynthesis leads to typical ranges of δ 13 C between −28‰ and −25‰ in modern barley, which is a C3 plant (27). In case of drought stress, the plants protect themselves from dehydration through closure of the stomata, which leads to a relative enrichment of the heavy vs. the light carbon isotope in the plant tissues (22).…”

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Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain

Riehl

Pustovoytov

Weippert

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

115

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The collapse and resilience of political systems in the ancient Near East and their relationship with agricultural development have been of wide interest in archaeology and anthropology. Despite attempts to link the archaeological evidence to local paleoclimate data, the precise role of environmental conditions in ancient agricultural production remains poorly understood. Recently, stable isotope analysis has been used for reconstructing site-specific ancient growing conditions for crop species in semiarid and arid landscapes. To open the discussion of the role of regional diversity in past agricultural production as a factor in societal development, we present 1.037 new stable carbon isotope measurements from 33 archaeological sites and modern fields in the geographic area of the Fertile Crescent, spanning the Aceramic Neolithic [10,000 calibrated years (cal) B.C.] to the later Iron Age (500 cal B.C.), alongside modern data from 13 locations. Our data show that drought stress was an issue in many agricultural settlements in the ancient Near East, particularly in correlation with the major Holocene climatic fluctuations, but its regional impact was diverse and influenced by geographic factors. Although cereals growing in the coastal areas of the northern Levant were relatively unaffected by Holocene climatic fluctuations, farmers of regions further inland had to apply irrigation to cope with increased water stress. However, inland agricultural strategies showed a high degree of variability. Our findings suggest that regional differences in climatic effects led to diversified strategies in ancient subsistence and economy even within spatially limited cultural units.Holocene climate change | agricultural societies | aridity stress | Middle East | archaeobotanical crop species

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain

Riehl

Pustovoytov

Weippert

et al. 2014

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

115

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“…For example, δ 13 C of plants from the dry environments in one study (35) might be interpreted as higher MAP. In the most arid environments, plants may preferentially grow in cracks or declivities where precipitation accumulates, effectively increasing MAP (36), and other sources of precipitation, such as fog, may contribute significantly to total moisture (37,38). These processes provide greater moisture than implied by MAP alone, and in these cases paleo-MAP estimates will be maxima.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate

Kohn

2010

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

1,155

799

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A broad compilation of modern carbon isotope compositions in all C3 plant types shows a monotonic increase in δ 13 C with decreasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) that differs from previous models. Corrections for temperature, altitude, or latitude are smaller than previously estimated. As corrected for altitude, latitude, and the δ 13 C of atmospheric CO 2 , these data permit refined interpretation of MAP, paleodiet, and paleoecology of ecosystems dominated by C3 plants, either prior to 7-8 million years ago (Ma), or more recently at mid-to high latitudes. Twenty-nine published paleontological studies suggest preservational or scientific bias toward dry ecosystems, although wet ecosystems are also represented. Unambiguous isotopic evidence for C4 plants is lacking prior to 7-8 Ma, and hominid ecosystems at 4.4 Ma show no isotopic evidence for dense forests. Consideration of global plant biomass indicates that average δ 13 C of C3 plants is commonly overestimated by approximately 2‰.aridity | carbon cycle | closed canopy | paleoprecipitation P lants exhibiting C3 photosynthesis have dominated the history of terrestrial vegetation, as CAM plants occupy only a small percentage of typical ecosystems (e.g., 1), and C4 plants became abundant in grasslands only within the last 7-8 million years (2). C3 plants exhibit a large range of carbon isotope compositions (−20 to −37‰, V-PDB; Fig. 1), generally reflecting a physiological response to aridity (anomalously high δ 13 C) and a combination of low light levels plus leaf litter recycling (anomalously low δ 13 C; 3). Past studies have conflicted on the dependence of δ 13 C on mean annual precipitation (MAP). Most studies support a negative correlation (e.g., 4), but some have reported no correlation (5) or even a positive correlation (6).This study explores carbon isotope systematics of C3 plants through a comprehensive compilation of literature data, minimizing local differences that have given rise to disparate interpretations. This work directly benefits paleodietary and paleoecological studies by providing estimates of MAP in ancient environments as well as clearer boundaries for identifying the understory of closed-canopy forests and the contribution of non-C3 plants to diet, which is used to gain insights into C4 origins (2). The new compilation also helps refine models of the modern carbon cycle by providing a better estimate of global C3 δ 13 C values (7). The present analysis differs from a recent investigation of correlations between tree þ shrub δ 13 C and MAP or plant functional type (8) in that it is several times larger on a site-by-site basis, spans the full range of plant growth forms (including trees, bushes, grasses, and herbs), averages data from each site to minimize sampling bias (4), and regresses an arguably more appropriate function to the data. Selection criteria of climate and isotopic data also differ slightly. This broader approach of considering all C3 plants and averaging compositions is important when evaluating herbivore paleodiets, whic...

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“…This study integrated the results of isotopic survey of traditionally managed barley fields, extending from the Mediterranean north to the arid south of Morocco, with those of a previous study of plant isotopic variation with rainfall in the eastern Mediterranean (Hartman and Danin 2010). A working model was developed for disentangling the effects of aridity and manuring on cereal δ 15 N values (Styring et al 2016, figure 4).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Traditional Farming in Morocco to Early Urban Agroecology in Northern Mesopotamia: Combining Present-day Arable Weed Surveys and Crop Isotope Analysis to Reconstruct Past Agrosystems in (Semi-)arid Regions

Bogaard

Styring

Ater

et al. 2016

Environmental Archaeology

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We integrate functional weed ecology with crop stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to assess their combined potential for inferring arable land management practices in (semi-)arid regions from archaeobotanical assemblages. Weed and GIS survey of 60 cereal and pulse fields in Morocco are combined with crop sampling for stable isotope analysis to frame assessment of agricultural labour intensity in terms of manuring, irrigation, tillage and handweeding. Under low management intensity weed variation primarily reflects geographical differences, whereas under high management intensity fields in disparate regions have similar weed flora. Manured and irrigated oasis barley fields are clearly discriminated from less intensively manured rain-fed barley terraces in southern Morocco; when fields in northern and southern Morocco are considered together, climatic differences are superimposed on the agronomic intensity gradient. Barley δ 13 C and δ 15 N values clearly distinguish among the Moroccan regimes. An integrated approach combines crop isotope values with weed ecological discrimination of low-and high-intensity regimes across multiple studies (in southern Morocco and southern Europe). Analysis of archaeobotanical samples from EBA Tell Brak, Syria suggests that this early city was sustained through extensive (low-intensity, large-scale) cereal farming. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Isotopic values of plants in relation to water availability in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Cited by 208 publications

References 54 publications

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain

Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate

From Traditional Farming in Morocco to Early Urban Agroecology in Northern Mesopotamia: Combining Present-day Arable Weed Surveys and Crop Isotope Analysis to Reconstruct Past Agrosystems in (Semi-)arid Regions

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Isotopic values of plants in relation to water availability in the Eastern Mediterranean region

Cited by 208 publications

References 54 publications

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ 13 C in barley grain

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ 13 C in barley grain

Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate

From Traditional Farming in Morocco to Early Urban Agroecology in Northern Mesopotamia: Combining Present-day Arable Weed Surveys and Crop Isotope Analysis to Reconstruct Past Agrosystems in (Semi-)arid Regions

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Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain

Drought stress variability in ancient Near Eastern agricultural systems evidenced by δ ¹³ C in barley grain