In recent years the ecohydrological separation paradigm has stimulated significant scientific debate, as it challenges the basis of existing hydrological process understanding. Through the use of stable isotope analysis several studies have demonstrated that two isotopically distinct water stores may exist within the subsurface, a matric-bound store which sustains transpiration and a mobile store which contributes to the recharge of groundwater and streams. Despite growing evidence supporting this hypothesis, further testing across a range of climatic regimes and environmental settings has been advocated to develop an improved hydrological understand of this paradigm. In this study, the dual isotopic composition of meteoric and environmental waters was analysed in a semi-arid riparian environment during a significant El Nino induced drought, to ascertain if plants were using water that would have otherwise contributed to stream and/or groundwater recharge. Overall, the results of these investigations showed no clear evidence supporting ecohydrological separation. Environmental waters were found to be significantly different from rainfall, whereas no significant differences were established between xylem, bulk soil water, and streamflow. While, these findings represent a unique scenario with regards to the testing of ecohydrological separation, these results are by no means ubiquitous as sampling was conducted during extreme climatic conditions with limited spatio-temporal representation of the system. Therefore, longer-term sampling and monitoring is recommended to obtain an improved understanding of the system under a range of climatic conditions.

近年来，生态水文分离范式引起了广泛的科学争论，因为它挑战了现有水文过程理解的基础。通过使用稳定同位素分析，数项研究表明，地下可能存在两个同位素不同的储水层，一个基质蒸腾层维持蒸腾作用，而一个移动储层则有助于地下水和溪流的补给。尽管有越来越多的证据支持这一假说，但仍主张在各种气候条件和环境条件下进行进一步测试以增强对这种范式的水文认识。在这项研究中，在厄尔尼诺现象引起的严重干旱期间，在半干旱河岸环境中分析了流域和环境水的双重同位素组成，确定植物是否正在使用否则会增加溪流和/或地下水补给的水。总体而言，这些调查的结果表明没有明确的证据支持生态水文分离。发现环境水与降雨有显着差异，而木质部，散装土壤水和水流之间没有显着差异。尽管这些发现代表着有关生态水文学分离测试的独特场景，但这些结果绝非普遍存在，因为在极端气候条件下以有限的时空系统表示进行采样。因此，建议进行长期采样和监视，以更好地了解各种气候条件下的系统。