Values of Stable Carbon Isotopes (delta~(13)C) in the Thalli of the Arid Vagrant Lichen Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis along an AltitudinalGradient in the Khangai Plateau as a Reflection of the Spatial and Ecological Heterogeneity of the Semiarid Region of Mongolia

摘要

Stable carbon isotopes (delta~(13)C) were measured in the organic matter (OM) of the thalli of the arid vagrant lichen Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis collected along an altitudinal gradient, from 1550 to 3250 m above mean sea level in the steppe and highland meadows of the Khangai Plateau, Mongolia. In the Eastern Khangai, in the steppes of low and medium elevations, the OM is enriched in ~(13)C with increasing elevation from 1550 to 2300 m above sea level. In the highland meadows of the Central Khangai, the OM is depleted in ~(13)C with increasing elevation. According to the data presented, the results obtained at a local scale do not always correspond with those on a regional scale. It is probable that the populations of X. camtschadalis growing inthe steppes at low and medium elevations without permafrost have another type of carbon discrimination compared to those formed in highland meadows on permafrost soils.