Louisiana Wetland Foliar Stable Isotope Signatures from Delta-X 2021

Foliar carbon and nitrogen stable isotope signatures were measured for dominant herbaceous species at six wetland sites in Louisiana's Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins. Data collection occurred over a nine-day period in August 2021 as part of the NASA Delta-X airborne campaign. The dataset provides insights into plant nutrient sourcing and ecosystem processes in a dynamic coastal delta environment.

Use Cases

• Analyzing delta 13C signatures to compare carbon fixation strategies and water-use efficiency among dominant wetland plant species.
• Investigating delta 15N values to assess nitrogen sources and cycling within different coastal basins (Atchafalaya vs. Terrebonne).
• Correlating foliar isotopic data with other Delta-X campaign measurements (e.g., remote sensing, elevation) for integrated ecosystem modeling.
• Establishing a baseline isotopic signature for wetland vegetation in CRMS (Coastwide Reference Monitoring System) sites for future change detection.

Strengths

• Isotopic analysis performed using a specific, high-precision instrument: a Thermo Scientific Delta V Plus CF-IRMS coupled to a Carlo-Erba 1108 elemental analyzer.
• Sampling followed a structured protocol with duplicate 0.25 m2 plots harvested at five-meter intervals for each station.
• Data covers six distinct sites across two major coastal basins (Atchafalaya and Terrebonne), providing spatial comparison.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and file size are unavailable from all provided sources.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2026-03 13 and another listing the collection end date of 2021-08-27.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Aboveground biomass was clipped at soil level from duplicate plots, with foliar tissue analyzed for C and N bulk isotopic signatures using a CF-IRMS.

Time Range

2021-08-19 to 2021-08-27

Freshness

2026-03-13 03:17:19.678763

Geography

Six sites in the Atchafalaya (3 sites) and Terrebonne (3 sites) basins, coastal Louisiana, USA. Five sites are CRMS stations, one is the Mike Island Site in the Wax Lake Delta.