Below-ground partitioning (¹⁴C) and isotopic fractionation (δ¹³C) of carbon recently assimilated by maize

Partitioning of carbon recently assimilated by maize between shoots, roots, exudates, and CO2 from root respiration depending on three different levels of nutrient supply (full nutrient solution (NS), 10 times diluted NS, or deionised water) was estimated by 14C pulse labelling. A 13C fractionation in these compartments was investigated in relation to the nutrient supply. With decreasing nutrient supply, 14C allocation to the shoots and to the roots decreased from 76 % to 69 % and increased from 8 % to 13 % of 14C recovery, respectively. Average percentage of 14C in exudates and root-respired CO2 was 0.5 % and 16 % of 14C recovery, respectively. The concentration of the NS was not crucial for the amount of recently assimilated C recovered in exudates and CO2, but for the amounts in shoots and roots. For all three nutrient levels, roots were enriched in 13C when compared with shoots and 13C fractionation increased with decreasing nutrient supply up to 0.7 ‰. Further 13C discrimination by exudation led to more 13C in exudates when compared with the roots of full nutrient supply and less 13C in exudates when compared with the roots grown in diluted NS and in deionised water. There were only small differences of<1.0 ‰ in δ13C values between roots and CO2 from root respiration. A 13C fractionation of recently assimilated C occurred between roots and exudates but was negligible for the CO2 respired by roots. Keywords: Carbon-13Carbon-14Carbon assimilationMaize Acknowledgements We thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for the funding, V. Cercasov for usage of the scintillation counter, and W. Armbruster for the IRMS analyses.