Wetland Root Isotope Signatures Across a Louisiana Salinity Gradient

Carbon-13 and nitrogen 15 isotopic signatures were measured from belowground root biomass in herbaceous wetlands of Louisiana's Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins. The dataset covers six sites sampled in August 2021, representing a freshwater to saline gradient and aligning with established Coastwide Reference Monitoring System locations. It was produced by NASA as part of the Delta-X airborne campaign to study deltaic processes.

Use Cases

• Analyzing carbon source differences (13C) across freshwater, brackish, and saline wetland sites.
• Investigating nitrogen cycling and nutrient status (15N) in deltaic root systems.
• Calibrating or validating remote sensing models of belowground biomass with ground-truth isotopic data.
• Studying linkages between wetland vegetation and sediment dynamics in a rapidly changing delta.

Strengths

• Samples represent a controlled salinity gradient across six distinct wetland sites.
• Isotopic measurements were made on living fine roots using mass spectrometer and elemental analyzer.
• Five of the six sampling sites are co-located with established long-term monitoring (CRMS) stations.

Limitations

• Row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last update date: one lists 2026-03-13, another lists 2021-08, suggesting possible metadata errors.
• Data is limited to a single sampling period in August 2021.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Root biomass samples collected with a gouge soil auger; bulk isotopic signatures measured with a mass spectrometer coupled to an elemental analyzer.

Time Range

August 2021

Freshness

2026-03-13 03:10:05.233366

Geography

Herbaceous wetlands in the Atchafalaya and Terrebonne basins of the Mississippi River Delta, coastal Louisiana, USA.