A second article uses stable isotope ratios of oxygen (the 18O:16O
ratio, expressed as δ18O) in phosphate to examine phosphorus cycling
during long-term ecosystem development. This technique provides information
on phosphorus cycling in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems
(Jaisi and Blake, 2014; McLaughlin et al., 2006; Tamburini et al.,
2014) and was previously used to examine aspects of microbial phosphorus
cycling along a short-term (150 year old) glacial foreland
chronosequence in Switzerland (Tamburini et al., 2012). This is extended
here to the 6500 year Haast chronosequence in New Zealand, revealing
the importance of efficient organic phosphorus cycling in
maintaining phosphorus availability during long-term ecosystem development
(Roberts et al., 2015).