BIOLOGY Concerning the biological nitrogen fixation on Surtsey
The development of the biological nitrogen fixation in the originally sterile soil of Surtsey, Iceland, is dicussed and the blue-green algae Anabaena variabilis and Nostoc rnuscorzlm have proved to be the most important of the immigrated nitrogen fixers.
Abstract
The development of the biological nitrogen fixation in the originally sterile soil of Surtsey, Iceland, is dicussed. The blue-green algae Anabaena variabilis and Nostoc rnuscorzlm which nowadays frequently occur on Surtsey, have proved to be the most important of the immigrated nitrogen fixers. The nitrogen input from the air to the nitrogen-deficient ecosystem of this new island is obviously of advantage to the biological succession. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This investigation was sponsored by the Stvedish National Research Council and the Surtsey Research Society. The authors are also indebted to the Swedish Geo-Group for Surtsey Research, Uppsala, for kind assistance.