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The Presence of Nitrates and the Impact of Ultraviolet Radiation as Factors that Determine Nitrate Reductase Activity and Nitrogen Concentrations in Deschampsia antarctica Desv. Around Penguin Rookeries on King George Island, Maritime Antarctica

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Abstract

Plant communities around penguin rookeries were studied during the Antarctic summer. Antarctic hair grass Deschampsia antarctica was examined. The abundance of this grass around penguin rookeries demonstrated a characteristic distribution. Eight UV screens were installed on a transect leading away from the rookeries. Nitrate reductase activity was measured below and outside of the screens. The activity varied between the measurement sites and also changed with the distance from rookeries. Fifteen cycles of nitrate reductase activity were conducted during the experiment. The highest values of nitrate reductase in the leaves of plants protected from UV radiation, which occurred in well-fertilized sites close to the rookery, reached 743.1 (SD = 789.7) nmol of nitrite synthesized g−1 of dry mass h−1; the lowest occurred in the poorly fertilized sites 77.2 (SD = 41.2) nmol g−1 of dry mass h−1. Nitrate reductase activity in unprotected plants growing in ambient conditions reached up to 843.8 (SD = 894.5) in well-fertilized sites and 159.5 (SD = 257.6) nmol g−1 of dry mass h−1, respectively. The greatest abundance of D. antarctica occurred in the middle of the transect. The influence of ultraviolet radiation caused the induction of NR activity in poorly fertilized sites, but this effect was not visible in sites that were well fertilized. Total nitrogen concentrations in the plant tissues varied between 1.4 % in poor sites and 3.4 % in sites that were situated close to the rookeries. In addition, the concentrations of total nitrogen in the soil varied between the sites and ranged from 0.2 to 3.3 %.

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Acknowledgments

The authors owe special thanks to Krystyna Grodzińska, Kazimierz Zarzycki, and Adam Barcikowski, whose ideas initiated this survey, for their generous encouragement and support throughout, without which it would not have been accomplished. Special thanks are also due to all the XXVI "Arctowski" expeditionary team, particularly the leader of this expedition, Paweł Loro, for their logistical aid and comradeship during field studies. The field survey was partly supported by logistical and financial aid from the Department of Antarctic Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences. We also thank Ms. Michele Simmons for English correction of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education within the program “Supporting International Mobility of Scientists” edition III, project No. 2 to JS and grants Nos. 6P04F01820, 2P04F00127, and NN305376438 to MK and JS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Protection and Engineering, University of Bielsko-Biała, Willowa 2, 43-309, Bielsko-Biała, Poland

    Marek Krywult

  2. Department of Biodiversity, Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Mickiewicza 33, 31-120, Kraków, Poland

    Jerzy Smykla

  3. Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Protection, Institute of Ecology and Environmental Protection, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Gagarina 9, 87-100, Toruń, Poland

    Adam Wincenciak

  4. Department of Antarctic Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ustrzycka 10/12, 02-141, Warszawa, Poland

    Marek Krywult, Jerzy Smykla & Adam Wincenciak

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  1. Marek Krywult
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Correspondence to Marek Krywult.

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Krywult, M., Smykla, J. & Wincenciak, A. The Presence of Nitrates and the Impact of Ultraviolet Radiation as Factors that Determine Nitrate Reductase Activity and Nitrogen Concentrations in Deschampsia antarctica Desv. Around Penguin Rookeries on King George Island, Maritime Antarctica. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1563 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1563-8

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