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Nitrogen, Sulfur and Carbon Isotopes as a Local Factor
All plants incorporat nitrogen and sulfur from the soil into its biomass and ,thereby, is reflecting the conditions of its direct surrounding. The differences found in nature are due to the fact that the earth's entire biomass is being converted continuously by bio-geo-chemical cycles of matter.
These conversion processes also cause a continuous change of composition of the isotopes. Inside the plants, specific metabolic processes additionally generate a very distinct isotope pattern. Hence, plants mirror the specific, unique conditions of their location - they therefore contain the so-called isotope fingerprint.
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Influences on the site-specific isotopic fingerprint
The isotope conditions of nitrogen and sulfur are being determined by their replenishment rate out of the soil and partly by immissions out of the air. For the liberation of these isotopes in the soil, not only the particular fertilizer in use plays a role but also preceding fertilizer applications including organic shares. These locally varying conditions allow a localized allocation. Both parameters are therefore called "local factors".
In case of animals, the 15N/14N-ratio of the food they received is found in their corresponding biomass or their products (e.g. eggs or meat) shifted by a certain amount.
The 13C/12C-ratio of the carbon is determined by two different types of metabolism, the C3- and C4-plants. Most of the wild and agricultural plants belong to the C3-type (e.g. wine and sugar beets). ). In contrast to that, the most prominent representatives of the C4-plants are corn and sugar cane. Accordingly, quality aspects of the corresponding products can be evaluated on this basis and evidence about the food the animals received can be collected.
