Nitrogen acquisition and dynamics of eelgrass Zostera marina L. were assessed durlng a
late summer period of high plant growth and low nitrogen availability in the water colun~n. N~trogen
uptake through leaves and roots, translocation within the plant, and the role of nitrogen reclamation
from older plant parts were estimated using ISN-techniques and compared to nitrogen incorporation in
growing tissues Total eelgrass biomass was 700 g (dry wt) m-2 Relative growth rate was 0 022 d-' and
eelgrass production was 5.6 g C m-2 d-' Production was high in spite of low nitrogen availability In the
water column and low lnternal nitrogen contents of plants. Nitrogen incorporation in growing tissues
was 0.155 g N m-2 d.', and the molar ratio of incorporated C to N (C:N) was 42 or 6-fold higher than
the average ratio reported for phytoplankton. However, due to efficient translocation of nitrogen from
old to young tissues, C:N in the most actively growing leaf was only 2-fold higher than that of phytoplankton
Reclamation of nitrogen from old tissues supplied 12 '% of total nitrogen incorporation and
88 % was suppl~ed by external media uptake. Leaf and root uptake were equally important in spite of
much higher nitrogen availablllty in the sediment porewater compared to that of the water column.
Eelgrass seems well adapted to nitrogen-poor environments because it conserves nitrogen within the
plant, efficiently takes up nitrogen from both the water column and sediment, maintains high growth
rates in spite of low internal nitrogen contents.