Little is known about partitioning of soil water resources in species-rich,
seasonally dry tropical fc,rests. We assessed spatial and temporal pattern
s of soil water utilization in several canopy tree species on Barro Colorad
o Island, Panama, during the 1997 dry season. Stable hydrogen isotope compo
sition (delta D) of xylem and soil water, soil volumetric water content (th
eta(v)), and sap flow were measured concurrently. Evaporative fractionation
near the soil surface caused soil water delta D to decrease from about -15
parts per thousand at 0.1 m to -50 to -55 parts per thousand at 1.2 m dept
h. Groundwater sampled at the sources of nearby springs during this period
yielded an average FD value of -60 parts per thousand. theta(v) increased s
harply and nearly linearly with depth to 0.7 m, then increased more slowly
between 0.7 and 1.05 m. Based on xylem delta D values, water uptake in some
individual plants appeared to be restricted largely to the upper 20 cm of
the soil profile where theta(v) dropped below 20% during the dry season. In
contrast, other individuals appeared to have access to water at depths gre
ater than 1 m where theta(v) remained above 45% throughout the dry season.
The depths of water sources for trees with intermediate xylem delta D value
s were less certain because variation in soil water delta D between 20 and
70 cm was relatively small. Xylem water delta D was also strongly dependent
on tree size (diameter at breast height), with smaller trees appearing to
preferentially tap deeper sources of soil water than larger trees. This rel
ationship appeared to be species independent. Trees able to exploit progres
sively deeper sources of soil water during the dry season, as indicated by
increasingly negative xylem delta D values, were also able to maintain cons
tant or even increase rates of water use. Seasonal courses of water use and
soil water partitioning were associated with leaf phenology. Species with
the smallest seasonal variability in leaf fall were also able to tap increa
singly deep sources of soil water as the dry season progressed. Comparison
of xylem, soil, and groundwater delta D values thus pointed to spatial and
temporal partitioning of water resources among several tropical forest cano
py tree species during the dry season.