Oak Transpiration Drawn From the Weathered Bedrock Vadose Zone in the Summer Dry Season

The spatiotemporal dynamics of plant water sources are hidden and poorly understood. We document water source use of Quercus garryana growing in Northern California on a profile of approximately 50 cm of soil underlain by 2–4 m of weathered bedrock (sheared shale mélange) that completely saturates in winter, when the oaks lack leaves, and progressively dries over the summer. We determined oak water sources by combining observations of water stable isotope composition, vadose zone moisture and groundwater dynamics, and metrics of tree water status (potential) and use (sapflow). During the spring, oak xylem water is isotopically similar to the seasonal groundwater and shallow, evaporatively enriched soil moisture pools. However, as soils dry and the water table recedes to the permanently saturated, anoxic, low‐conductivity fresh bedrock boundary, Q. garryana shifts to using a water source with a depleted isotopic composition that matches residual moisture in the deep soil and underlying weathered bedrock vadose zone. Sapflow rates remain high as late‐summer predawn water potentials drop below −2.5 MPa. Neutron probe surveys reveal late‐summer rock moisture declines under the oaks in contrast to constant rock moisture levels under grass‐dominated areas. We therefore conclude that the oaks temporarily use seasonal groundwater when it occupies the weathered profile but otherwise use deep unsaturated zone moisture after seasonal groundwater recedes. The ample moisture, connected porosity, and oxygenated conditions of the weathered bedrock vadose zone make it a key tree water resource during the long summer dry season of the local Mediterranean climate. Plain Language Summary What are the water sources that allow oaks to transpire through extended dry periods? Oaks in California are thought to tap into groundwater to meet dry season water demand. Here, we show that oaks growing in a savanna woodland instead use tightly held moisture within deep soil and weathered bedrock above the saturated zone. We determined this by matching stable isotopes in the trees' water to these moisture pools. Deep soil and rock moisture were isotopically lighter than shallow soil moisture, which was affected by evaporative enrichment, and the groundwater, which looked more like average wet season rainfall. Monitored moisture declines within the weathered bedrock corroborate the isotopic interpretation that rock moisture sustained oak transpiration. Although the saturated zone was only