| dc.description.abstract | Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are three of the main nutrients for the primary
functioning of all biological life. These elemental nutrients are abundant in terrestrial
systems and the lithosphere, where microbes and plants can access the nutrients in the
rocks at the surface. This study focused on the nutrient content in sedimentary and igneous
rock material from New South Wales, Australia, to locate the most nutrient rich areas based
on their sedimentary environment. The methods that were used to analyze the total
nutrient content of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were XRF and IRMS. The
rock samples were collected from several areas spread out from Sydney Basin to the Blue
Mountains. These areas encompass Narrabeen, Leumeah Road, Bradbury, Australian
Botanical Garden, Mulgoa National Park, Bilpin, Kurrajong Heights, Mount Wilson, Mount
Banks, as well as Lithgow and Sunny Corner. The results showed a high nutrient content in a
specific shale called the Ashfield shale, which is the base formation of the Wianamatta shale.
This shale was collected in the area of Leumeah Road and Bradbury in the southern part of
New South Wales. The N/K correlation of the Ashfield shales gave a result of ~0,99, while the
N/C correlation gave the result of 0,7. The analysis shows that the most nutrient rich rocks
are based in the Triassic areas of New South Wales, where there used to be a shallow marine
to brackish environment close to the Lachlan Fold Belt. | en_US |
