Hydrogen isotopic compositions along a precipitation gradient of Chinese Loess Plateau: Critical roles of precipitation/evaporation and vegetation change as controls for leaf wax δD

The hydrogen isotopic compositions (δD) of long-chain plant leaf waxes can reflect changes of continental hydrology and thus have been increasingly utilized for paleoclimate reconstruction. One of the unresolved major issues is whether variations of leaf wax δD (δDwax) signals along a precipitation gradient reflect changes of precipitation δD, precipitation amount, and/or evapo-transpiration. This ambiguity limits our interpretation of δDwax in...