Community-level foliar stable carbon isotope is dominantly influenced by leaf functional traits in dry Inner Mongolia steppes

Abstract The carbon isotope composition of leaf tissue is an excellent indicator of a plant's intrinsic water use efficiency, providing crucial insights into vegetation dynamics under global climate change. However, in arid and semiarid grassland ecosystems, the factors driving variations in community foliar δ13C values across different steppe types and the extent to which they can be used to monitor changes in community productivity remain unclear. Based on the community-weighted mean foliar δ13C (foliar δ13CCWM) values of meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe, which are distributed from east to west as water resources decrease in Inner Mongolia grasslands, our study examines the impacts and regulatory pathways of the community-weighted means of leaf functional traits (LFTCWM) and environmental factors on foliar δ13CCWM values and aboveground productivity. Our results show that the foliar δ13CCWM variations are predominantly influenced by environmental factors in meadow and typical steppe areas but by leaf traits in desert steppe areas. Aboveground productivity in Inner Mongolian grasslands is influenced primarily by temperature, and foliar δ13CCWM values can be used to monitor changes in productivity. Our findings are crucial for understanding how plants drive processes in grassland ecosystems and determining the responses of grassland ecosystems to environmental changes.