Abstract:Reaumuria soongorica is a dominant species in the desert shrubbery veg etation in arid regions of northwestern China, playing an important role in the maintenance of the stability and continuity of desert ecosystem. In this paper, a total of 407 individuals in 21 natural populations ofR. soongorica were s elected from its main distribution areas to measure the leaf stable carbon isoto pe composition (δ13C) and nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, water, proline and chlorophyll contents, with the correlations between the δ13C value a nd the test physiological parameters analyzed. The results showed that leaf δ13C value was significantly correlated with the contents of leaf potassium, water, and proline (P<0.001), and the correlation with leaf potassium conte nt was most profound (r=0.793), followed by that with leaf water content ( r=-0.786), indicating that the variation of leaf δ13C value could reflect the nutritional status of the plants, and also, their water-deficient degree. The different distribution trends in leaf δ13C value of R. soongoricawere likely caused by stomatal conductance, rather than by nutrient-related changes in photosynthetic efficiency under extremely low available water conditions.