Effects of waterlogging on carbon assimilate partitioning in the Zoigê alpine wetlands revealed by (13)CO(2) pulse labeling

Waterlogging has been suggested to affect carbon (C) turnover in wetlands, but how it affects C allocation and stocks remains unclear in alpine wetlands. Using in situ (13)CO(2) pulse labelling, we investigated C allocation in both waterlogged and non-waterlogged sites in the Zoigê wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau in August 2011. More than 50% of total (13)C fixed by photosynthesis was lost via shoot respiration. Shoots recovered about 19% of total (13)C fixed by photosynthesis at both sites. Only about 26% of total fixed (13)C was translocated into the belowground pools. Soil organic C pool accounted for 19% and roots recovered about 5–7% of total fixed (13)C at both sites. Waterlogging significantly reduced soil respiration and very little (13)C was lost via soil respiration in the alpine wetlands compared to that in grasslands. We conclude that waterlogging did not significantly alter C allocations among the C pools except the (13)CO(2) efflux derived from soil respiration and that shoots made similar contributions to C sequestration as the belowground parts in the Zoigê alpine wetlands. Therefore, changes in waterlogging due to climate change will not affect C assimilate partitioning but soil C efflux.