The relationship between plant stable carbon isotope composition, precipitation and satellite data, Tibet Plateau, China

Stable carbon isotope composition (delta C-13) of C3 plant leaves from the Tibet Plateau was analyzed to detect the relationship between stable carbon isotope composition (delta C-13) and precipitation. In northern Tibet, delta C-13 increases by 0.46%o with an increase of 100 mm in precipitation, while in the southern plateau delta C-13 decreases by 1.82%. with an increase of 100 mm in precipitation. Because field sampling is limited by funds and traffic conditions, while remote sensing has no limitations, satellite data was introduced as a new data source to study the relationship between delta C-13 and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). NDVI has the same trend with delta C-13, as does precipitation. So NDVI can be used to indicate delta C-13 approximately. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.