Nitrogen acquisition, assimilation and allocation in plants in Subantarctic and Antarctic ecosystems

In this study the nitrogen sources of plants were investigated for Macquarie Island in an ecosystem influenced by large amounts of animal-derived nitrogen. Different plant communities were studied in close and intermediate proximity to animal sites and at remote sites. Fluxes of animal derived nitrogen and plant nitrogen sources were estimated using 15N natural abundance. Furthermore we examined whether fossil peat retained past plant isotopic composition by cross-correlating two Holocene sites, which had strong fossil records with peat and extant plant delta 15N signatures.
Present data and archived peats collected for a previous project were sampled.