Stable isotope data for precipitation, soil and plant water during different hydro-climatological conditions in Dundee, Scotland, 2022-2023

Summary

This dataset contains water isotope compositions (δ2H and δ18O, ‰) of precipitation, soil and plant water collected at Balruddery Farm, Dundee, Scotland. Precipitation was collected daily from March 2022 to August 2023 while soil and plant were collected on 19 Aug 2022, 16 May 2023, 22 June 2023 and 18 July 2023. These dates corresponded to dry, wet, very dry and rewetting soil hydrological conditions, respectively. Soil cores were collected from upper (< 5 cm) and lower (5 – 30 cm) topsoil depths.  Root crown plant samples were collected from different wheat and barley cultivars.

These data were collected from a field experiment study designed to examine water uptake patterns of different cereal crop species in humid temperate systems. Specifically, it involved different cereal-legume co-cropping systems and their respective cereal monocultures. The experiment was carried out at Balruddery Farm, Dundee, Scotland which belongs to the James Hutton Institute in partnership with the University of Aberdeen. The work was supported by the Scottish Government’s Hydro Nation Scholars Programme through the Scottish Funding Council (Grant number: SF10247-10).

Provenance & quality

Precipitation samples were analysed at the University of Aberdeen for stable water isotopes using a TWIA-45-EP LGR instrument. Soil and plant xylem water were extracted using the cryogenic extraction method and analysed for water stable isotopes at the Institute for Bio- and Geosciences, Agrosphere (IBG-3) (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany) using a Picarro L2130-i laser Sprectrometer. Instruments were used following standard calibration steps and results were quality controlled.

Temporal coverage: March 2022 – August 2023. Precipitation was sampled daily; soil and plant were sampled periodically.

Related document: Journal paper associated with this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2024.109439

Supporting documentation

The cropping systems in this study consisted of four cereal monocultures and five cereal-legume co-cropping systems. It involved three barley (Hordeum vulgare) cultivars with contrasting characteristics and one wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivar. Cereals were paired with either one of two pea (Pisum sativum) cultivars, one bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) cultivar, or one faba bean (Vicia faba) cultivar sown in mixed arrangement (Table 1). Samples were collected from Locations A (56.485°N, -3.114°W) in 2022 and 2023, and B (56.481°N, -3.109°W) in 2023. 

Table 1: Description of cropping systems and plant identification

Location

ID

Description of cropping systems

A

Barley_Laureate_monoculture

Barley (var. Laureate) Monoculture

A

Barley_Laureate_co-crop

Barley (var. Laureate) and Pea (var. LG Stallion) Co-cropping

A

Barley_KWS Sassy_monoculture

Barley (var. KWS Sassy) Monoculture

A

Barley_KWS Sassy_co-crop

Barley (var. KWS Sassy) and Pea (var. LG Stallion) Co-cropping

B

Barley_Bere_monoculture

Barley (var. Bere)  Monoculture

B

Barley_Bere_co-crop

Barley (var. Bere) and Bean (var. Scottish bean) Co-cropping

B

Wheat_WPB Escape_monoculture

Wheat (var. WPB Escape) Monoculture

B

Wheat_WPB Escape_co-crop1

Wheat (var. WPB Escape) and Faba bean (var. Yukon) Co-cropping

B

Wheat_WPB Escape_co-crop2

Wheat (var. WPB Escape) and Pea (var. Orchestra) Co-cropping