Le développement, l'exploitation et la maintenance des systèmes urbains intelligents sont des tâches très complexes et impliquent de nombreux acteurs de différentes disciplines et domaines. Dans la plupart des cas, ces systèmes se trouvent à différentes phases de conception, de déploiement et d'exploitation, c'est-à-dire à différentes phases de leur cycle de vie. Par conséquent, les concepts de gestion du cycle de vie sont très importants pour mieux gérer le développement des villes intelligentes en tant qu'écosystème complet à travers les différentes phases du cycle de vie. Cet argument est étayé par les résultats de notre enquête sur les villes intelligentes, où les informations récoltées des parties prenantes interrogées prouvent la pertinence d’une approche cycle de vie pour répondre aux neuf préoccupations identifiées; non alignement sur les objectifs stratégiques, échec réglementaire au niveau des différentes phases, retard dans le «time to market», processus disjoints, partage des connaissances et traçabilité des données difficiles, échange inefficace de données/informations; et utilisation inefficace et inefficiente des infrastructures. Pour répondre aux préoccupations mentionnées ci-dessus, cette thèse propose l'application des éléments fondamentaux du cycle de vie aux villes intelligentes, ce qui nécessite l'introduction de la notion de temps dans la modélisation urbaine intelligente en ajoutant le point de vue « cycle de vie » comme nouvelle dimension de leurs architectures multicouches. L'approche proposée comprend deux éléments. Le premier est le modèle tridimensionnel qui permet aux développeurs de villes intelligentes d'envisager trois points de vue : les couches de l'architecture, le temps (phases du cycle de vie) et les domaines. Le deuxième correspond à la notion d'interaction qui permet l'intégration entre les systèmes de gestion du cycle de vie et les plateformes IoT. Cette approche est validée à travers un cas d'utilisation d’un système de stationnement intelligent « Smart Parking », proposé dans le cadre de la Coupe du Monde™ de la FIFA 2022. Le système de stationnement intelligent proposé est stratégiquement aligné sur les objets Smart Qatar et relie toutes les parties prenantes concernées à travers les différentes phases du cycle de vie. Pour assurer l'interopérabilité sémantique, le système de stationnement intelligent utilise les normes DATEX II pour les données statiques et dynamiques liées au stationnement. Enfin, le cas d'utilisation met l'accent sur l'intégration entre les données liées au cycle de vie et les données IoT à travers l'interaction entre un système de cycle de vie Aras Innovator® (construction de nomenclatures, gestion de configurations, etc.) et une plate-forme d’implémentation de référence IoT O-MI/O-DF (publication peer-to-peer, découverte d'informations liées au stationnement sous une forme agrégée). / Smart city system development, operation and maintenance are very complex tasks and involve numerous stakeholders from different disciplines and domains. In most cases, these systems are at different phases of design, deployment and operation, i.e. at different phases of lifecycle. Hence, lifecycle management concepts are very important to better manage smart city development as a complete ecosystem across different phases of lifecycle. This argument is supported by the findings of our smart city survey, where the information gathered from interviewed stakeholders proves the relevance of a lifecycle approach to address the identified nine concerns; non-alignment to strategic objectives, regulatory failure at different phases, delay in “time to market”, disjointed processes, difficult knowledge sharing and data traceability, inefficient and delayed exchange of data/ information, and inefficient and ineffective use of infrastructure.To address the abovementioned concerns, this thesis proposes the application of lifecycle management concepts in smart cities, which requires the introduction of the time notion to smart city modeling by adding the lifecycle viewpoint as a new dimension to the multi-layered architecture. The proposed smart city lifecycle-based approach consists of two components. First, the three-dimensional model that enables smart city developers to consider three viewpoints: Architecture Layers, Time (Lifecycle Phases), and Domains. Second, the interaction approach that enables integration between lifecycle management systems and IoT platforms. This approach is validated through a use-case of Smart Parking System, proposed as part of the FIFA World Cup™ 2022. The proposed smart parking system is strategically aligned to Smart Qatar objectives and connects all relevant stakeholders across the different lifecycle phases. To ensure semantic interoperability, the smart parking system uses the DATEX II standards for static and dynamic parking related data. Finally, the use-case focuses on the integration between lifecycle related data and IoT data through the interaction between Aras Innovator® lifecycle system (BoM construction, configuration management, etc.) and the O-MI/O-DF IoT Reference Implementation Platform (peer-to-peer publication and discovery of parking-related information in an aggregated form).

The impervious surfaces of built landscapes create stormwater runoff that causes water quantity and quality problems downstream, upsetting natural hydrology and harming aquatic ecosystems. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) includes practices that reduce the amount of stormwater runoff and the pollutants it carries utilizing plants, soils, and other materials to capture, store, reuse, infiltrate, evapotranspire, and filter stormwater. GSI helps to restore developed landscapes, mimicking natural hydrologic processes and providing important water treatment functions as well as beneficial green spaces in urban areas. However, there are many challenges associated with the implementation and maintenance of GSI in our communities and cultures. This research explores the human side of implementing GSI, investigating current maintenance capacities in rural and urban settings, and exploring multifunctional benefits of GSI to provide both biophysical and cultural ecosystem services (CES). Research goals include characterizing the current state of GSI implementation and maintenance in municipalities in the State of Vermont (USA) and eliciting lessons that can inform GSI design practices and policies. Multifunctional GSI design objectives that provide and enhance CES are described, revealing opportunities to instill values and a sense of stewardship for the health wellbeing of people and ecosystems. The first chapter provides relevant topical background to set the stage for the latter two chapters. The second chapter analyzes results from a survey of municipal officials in Vermont that occurred as part of NSF-EPSCoR-funded Basin Resilience to Extreme Events project research on stormwater management. The survey included questions about GSI and maintenance practices in place and perceptions of visual appeal and ability to maintain bioretention systems shown in landscape visualizations. Results show that visual appeal and perceived maintainability of vegetated bioretention practices do not appear to be significant barriers to adoption and operation, but stormwater policy and funding are shown to be both significant barriers and solutions to implementing and maintaining GSI in Vermont municipalities. Additionally, urban and rural towns provide very different contexts for implementing and maintaining GSI in Vermont and characteristics of development patterns and maintenance capacity should be considered in policy, regulations, outreach, and education. The third chapter offers a literature review, guided by a CES framework, of design elements that can be included in GSI to create multifunctional urban green spaces. CES categories of aesthetic, recreation, education, sense of place, social capital, and stewardship benefits framed a set of design elements, principles, practices, and documented benefits to guide multifunctional design of GSI. Findings include the importance of participatory processes to elicit diverse landscape values, visible water pathways, biodiversity, spaces for creative use, accessibility, interaction with water, interpretive signage, and artful and biophilic design features to enhance feelings of preference, pleasure, relaxation, learning, connection, and inclusion. The health and wellbeing of water and people must be integrated into the design of GSI for cities to be ecologically functional and culturally meaningful to their populations.

Living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors drive the function of ecosystems across a variety of scales from the root-soil interface to the watershed. Biotic and abiotic global change pressures such as increasing temperature and invasive species are shifting how ecosystems function. Thus, exploring and understanding how these factors shape function across the landscape is an important research area. For example, climate change both directly and indirectly affects soil microbial functions – such as carbon mineralization and nitrogen transformations – through increasing activity under warming and altering inputs to the soil through species composition changes. Mountains provide a useful tool for studying relationships among biotic and abiotic factors because climate and species diversity shift along gradients. Here, I measured carbon and nitrogen soil processes as well as microbial extracellular enzyme activity along an elevational gradient to explore how changes in climate, edaphic properties, and biotic composition affects ecosystem function. As expected, climate and species composition varied in predictable ways along the gradient – actual evapotranspiration declined, and conifer dominance increased. Soil functions also shifted along the gradient. Potential carbon mineralization increased with elevation and with conifer dominance. Potential nitrogen mineralization rates increased with elevation and with conifer dominance. Surprisingly, there were few predictors for potential soil nitrification, which increased only with soil functional diversity. While temperature and moisture availability drive ecosystem function at broad scales and biotic factors typically drive function at the regional scale, we saw that function of soils at the mountain watershed scale was best explained by a combination of both abiotic and biotic factors.

Coastal wetlands store immense amounts of carbon (C) in vegetation and sediments, but this store of C is under threat from climate change. Accelerated sea level rise (SLR), which leads to saltwater intrusion, and more frequent periods of droughts will both impact biogeochemical cycling in wetlands. Coastal peat marshes are especially susceptible to saltwater intrusion and changes in water depth, but little is known about how exposure to salinity affects organic matter accumulation and peat stability. I investigated freshwater and brackish marsh responses to elevated salinity, greater inundation, drought, and increased nutrient loading. Elevated salinity pulses in a brackish marsh increased CO2 release from the marsh but only during dry-down. Elevated salinity increased root mortality at both a freshwater and brackish marsh. Under continuously elevated salinity in mesocosms, net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was unaffected by elevated salinity in a freshwater marsh exposed to brackish conditions (0 à 8 ppt), but NEP significantly increased with P enrichment. Elevated salinity led to a higher turnover of live to dead roots, resulting in a ~2-cm loss in soil elevation within 1 year of exposure to elevated salinity. When exposing a brackish marsh to more saline conditions (10 à 20 ppt), NEP, aboveground biomass production, and root growth all significantly decreased with elevated salinity, shifting the marsh from a net C sink to a net C source to the atmosphere. Elevated salinity (10 à 20 ppt) did not increase soil elevation loss, which was already occurring under brackish conditions, but when coupled with a drought event, elevation loss doubled. My findings suggest these hypotheses for the drivers and mechanisms of peat collapse. When freshwater marshes are first exposed to elevated salinity, soil structure and integrity are negatively affected through loss of live roots within the soil profile, leaving the peat vulnerable to collapse even though aboveground productivity and NEP may be unaffected. Subsequent dry-down events where water falls below the soil surface further accelerate peat collapse. Although saltwater intrusion into freshwater wetlands may initially stimulate primary productivity through a P subsidy, the impact of elevated salinity on root and soil structure has a greater deleterious effect and may ultimately be the factors that lead to the collapse of these marshes.

Coastal wetlands protect coastlines through efficient storage of organic carbon (OC) that decreases wetland vulnerability to sea level rise (SLR). Accelerated SLR is driving saltwater intrusion and altering vegetation communities and biogeochemical conditions in coastal wetlands with uncertain implications. We quantified changes in OC stocks and fluxes driven by 1) saltwater and phosphorous intrusion on freshwater and brackish marshes, 2) vegetation along an experimental saltmarsh to mangrove gradient, 3) saltwater intrusion and vegetation change across a marsh to mangrove ecotone, and 4) vegetation change and mangrove forest development along a marsh to mangrove ecotone. Increasing salinity in freshwater marshes decreased root biomass and soil elevation within one year. In brackish marshes, increased salinity decreased root productivity and biomass and increased root breakdown rate (k), while added salinity did not increase elevation loss. In our experimental marsh-mangrove ecotone, mangrove vegetation promoted higher organic carbon (OC) storage by increasing above and belowground biomass and reducing organic matter k. However, mangroves also increased belowground k, and decreased allochthonous marine subsidies, indicating the potential for OC storage trade-offs. In the Southeast Everglades, we identified strong interior-coastal gradients in soil stoichiometry and mangrove cover. Interior freshwater soil conditions increased k, while total soil OC stocks decreased toward the coast indicating that saltwater intrusion is driving large scale soil OC loss. In the southeast Everglades, mangrove expansion increased root biomass and root productivity, but did not mitigate the overall loss of OC stocks toward the coast. Similarly, in the southwest Everglades, saltwater intrusion drove a decrease in soil OC. However, mangrove encroachment drove a rapid recovery and increased OC stocks. Mangrove encroachment doubled aboveground biomass within the last ten years, increased it 30 times in the last 30 years, and doubled belowground biomass after 20 years. Our research shows that 1) moderate saltwater intrusion without mangrove encroachment will lead to a loss in OC stocks and potentially lead to wetland elevation loss and submergence, 2) in the absence of a change in saltwater intrusion, mangrove expansion can enhance OC storage 3) mangrove expansion can mitigate OC loss during saltwater intrusion, but this pattern depends on mangrove recruitment and ecosystem productivity.

Ce travail représente une contribution originale à la méthodologie pour le développement de modèles écosystémiques ainsi qu'une première tentative d'une modélisation end-to-end (E2E) de l'écosystème du Courant de Humboldt Nord (ECHN). L'objectif principal du modèle développé dans cette thèse est de construire un outil de gestion écosystémique et d'aide à la décision; raison pour laquelle la crédibilité du modèle est essentielle, laquelle peut-être établie par confrontation aux données. En outre, le ECHN présente une grande variabilité climatique et océanographique à différentes échelles, la source principale de variation inter-annuelle étant l'interruption du cycle d'upwelling saisonnier par l'Oscillation Australe du phénomène El Niño qui a un effet direct sur la survie larvaire et le succès de recrutement des poissons. La pêche peut aussi être fortement variable, en fonction de l'abondance et de l'accessibilité des principales ressources halieutiques. Ce contexte amène deux questions méthodologiques principales que nous explorons dans cette thèse à travers le développement d'un modèle E2E qui couple le modèle OSMOSE, pour la partie haut niveau trophique, au modèle ROMS-PISCES, pour les parties hydrodynamique et biogéochimie:(i) Comment calibrer un modèle écosystémique à partir de séries temporelles de données? (ii) Comment inclure l'impact de la variabilité inter-annuelle de l'environnement et de la pêche? En premier lieu, cette thèse met en évidence plusieurs problèmes liés à la confrontation de modèles écosystémiques complexes aux données et propose une méthodologie pour une calibration séquentielle en plusieurs phases des modèles écosystémiques. Nous proposons deux critères pour classer les paramètres d'un modèle: la dépendance au modèle et la variabilité temporelle des paramètres. A partir de ces critères, et en tenant compte de l'existence d'estimations initiales, on énonce des règles qui permettent de déterminer quels paramètres doivent être estimés, et dans quel ordre, dans le processus de calibration séquentiel. De plus, un nouvel Algorithme Évolutionnaire, conçu pour la calibration de modèles stochastiques et optimisé pour l'estimation du maximum de vraisemblance, a été développé et utilisé pour la calibration du modèle OSMOSE avec des séries temporelles de données.La variabilité environnementale est explicite dans le modèle: le modèle ROMS-PISCES force le modèle OSMOSE et propage les effets bottom-up potentiels dans le réseau trophique à travers les interactions trophiques entre plancton et poisson d'une part, et les changements dans la distribution spatiale du poisson d'autre part. Cette dynamique spatiale des poissons est prise en compte par l'utilisation de modèles de distribution des espèces de type présence/absence, qui sont en général évalués grâce à une matrice de confusion et les indicateurs statistiques qui lui sont associés. Toutefois, quand on considère la prédiction d'un habitat au cours du temps, la variabilité de la distribution spatiale des habitats peut être résumée de manière complémentaire et validée en utilisant les patrons émergents de la forme des distributions spatiales. Nous avons modélisé l'habitat potentiel des principales espèces du ECHN en utilisant plusieurs sources d'information (pêches commerciales, campagnes scientifiques et suivi satellite des navires de pêche) conjointement aux données environnementales issues d'observations satellites et in-situ, de 1992 à 2008. L'habitat potentiel est estimé sur cette période d'étude avec une résolution mensuelle, et le modèle est validé à partir d'informations du système, en utilisant une approche pattern-oriented.Le modèle écosystémique E2E ROMS-PISCES-OSMOSE pour le ECHN est calibré en une approche par maximum de vraisemblance pour ajuster des séries temporelles mensuelles de 1992 à 2008. En conclusion,quelques applications potentielles du modèle pour la gestion des pêches sont présentées et nous discutons leurs limitations et les perspectives. / This work represents an original contribution to the methodology for ecosystem models' development as well as the first attempt of an end-to-end (E2E) model for the Northern Humboldt Current Ecosystem (NHCE). The main purpose of the developed model is to build a tool for ecosystem-based management and decision making, reason why the credibility of the model is essential, and this can be assessed through confrontation to data. Additionally, the NHCE exhibits a high climatic and oceanographic variability at several scales, the major source of interannual variability being the interruption of the upwelling seasonality by the El Nino Southern Oscillation, which has direct effects on larval survival and fish recruitment success. Fishing activity can also be highly variable, depending on the abundance and accessibility of the main fishery resources. This context brings the two main methodological questions addressed in this thesis, through the development of an end-to-end model coupling the high trophic level model OSMOSE to the hydrodynamics and biogeochemical model ROMS-PISCES: i) how to calibrate ecosystem models using time series data and ii) how to incorporate the impact of the interannual variability of the environment and fishing.First, this thesis highlights some issues related to the confrontation of complex ecosystem models to data and proposes a methodology for a sequential multi-phases calibration of ecosystem models. We propose two criteria to classify the parameters of a model: the model dependency and the time variability of the parameters. Then, these criteria along with the availability of approximate initial estimates are used as decision rules to determine which parameters need to be estimated, and their precedence order in the sequential calibration process. Additionally, a new Evolutionary Algorithm designed for the calibration of stochastic models (e.g Individual Based Model) and optimized for maximum likelihood estimation has been developed and applied to the calibration of the OSMOSE model to data time series.The environmental variability is explicit in the model: the ROMS-PISCES model forces the OSMOSE model and drives potential bottom-up effects up the foodweb through plankton and fish trophic interactions, as well as through changes in the spatial distribution of fish. The latter effect was taken into account using presence/absence species distribution models which are traditionally assessed through a confusion matrix and the statistical metrics associated to it. However, when considering the prediction of the habitat against time, the variability in the spatial distribution of the habitat can be summarized and validated using the emerging patterns from the shape of the spatial distributions. We modeled the potential habitat of the main species of the Humboldt Current Ecosystem using several sources of information (fisheries, scientific surveys and satellite monitoring of vessels) jointly with environmental data from remote sensing and in situ observations, from 1992 to 2008. The potential habitat was predicted over the study period with monthly resolution, and the model was validated using quantitative and qualitative information of the system using a pattern oriented approach.The final ROMS-PISCES-OSMOSE E2E ecosystem model for the NHCE was calibrated using our evolutionary algorithm and a likelihood approach to fit monthly time series data of landings, abundance indices and catch at length distributions from 1992 to 2008. To conclude, some applications of the model for fishery management are presented and their limitations and perspectives discussed.

Biocultural approaches to Environmental Management (EM) and monitoring are an emerging strategy in sustainability planning. Unlike functional ecological approaches to EM, which exclude humans from ecological systems, biocultural EM approaches incorporate humans, communities and their values as integral part of ecological systems, and are grounded in collaborative processes that develop locally relevant management objectives and monitoring practices. Biocultural indicators are a key aspect of biocultural EM, providing links between worldviews, knowledge systems, agencies and institutions at various scales to guide and streamline implementation of management objectives. Although many Indigenous Peoples have been continually practicing biocultural approaches to EM for thousands of years, challenges exist in contemporary EM scenarios where multiple worldviews, political boundaries and knowledge systems collide. Some of the challenges or gaps in contemporary biocultural approaches are based in theory, and others are in practice. In Chapter One I highlight one of these gaps – the lack of guiding criteria to develop biocultural indicators in contemporary biocultural EM and monitoring. To address this gap, I propose a novel suite of six criteria (culturally salient, supportive of place-based relationships, inclusive, sensitive to impacts, perceptible, linked to human well-being) drawn from a case study in Kitasoo/Xai’xais Territory in the area now referred to as the North and Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. In Chapter Two, I highlight a challenge in practice—the development of spatial models that incorporate a community-led approach. I show how this community-engaged approach benefitted the development and application of a landscape scale suitability model for culturally modified trees, a priority biocultural indicator. In conclusion, this theoretical and practical work identifies opportunities to amend existing Provincial and Federal legislation in order to support biocultural approaches to EM in Canada and shows how biocultural approaches may be applied in other social-ecological systems near and abroad. / Graduate

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of what capabilities that are required by actors in a business ecosystem depending on what role they enact. To fulfill this research purpose, the following research questions were derived: RQ1: What key activities underpin different ecosystem roles? and RQ2: What capabilities allow actors to perform key activities? Method – This study was conducted as an abductive single case-study of a business ecosystem that evolves around Internet-of-Things-based solutions in the automotive and transportation sector. In total, four companies and one expert company took part in the research, all participating in, or have knowledge of, the ecosystem of inquiry. In total, 20 interviews were conducted, and results were generated through the use of a thematic analysis. Findings – The findings from the study are summarized in a framework that illustrates what key activities actors perform to enact either an ‘Enabler’, ‘Leader’ or ‘Direct Value Creator’ role, and more specifically, what capabilities that allow actors to perform those key activities. The findings also show that actors must be able to leverage ‘ecosystem intelligence capabilities’, regardless of role, to be successful in a business ecosystem. Theoretical and practical implications – The study provide implications for research on business ecosystem by empirically explicating the key activities that underpin different ecosystem roles, and, by highlighting that actors must not only possess a set of role-specific capabilities, but also some generic capabilities that allow them to operate in a business ecosystem. Our framework assists managers to better evaluate if their firm can leverage the capabilities required to perform the activities of the role they aspire. Limitations and future research – The study is limited by a single case-study of a business ecosystem currently in the early phases. Hence, future research is recommended to validate and extend our findings in other contexts than of ours, as well as to study if the capabilityrequirements vary among different stages of ecosystem evolvement.

Le bassin méditerranéen est reconnu comme un "point chaud" de biodiversité soumis à de fortes pressions anthropiques. En domaine marin, les habitats coralligènes participent grandement à cette biodiversité et leur situation côtière les rend accessibles aux hommes. La thèse porte sur l'identification et l'évaluation de leurs services écosystémiques. J’ai utilisé le concept de \textit{service écosystémique} à une échelle locale : la Baie de Marseille (anthropisée) et le Parc national de Port-Cros (sous pression humaine minimale). Le premier volet de la thèse porte sur l'identification et la description des services rendus par les habitats coralligènes dans les zones d’étude. Les services les plus évidents (production de ressource alimentaire, production de corail rouge et sites de plongée) font l’objet d’une étude plus approfondie. Le deuxième volet de la thèse teste le concept de cascade de service écosystémique d'Haines-Young et Potschin pour décrire les éléments et fonctions de l'écosystème impliqués dans chaque service, les bénéficiaires et les types de valeurs économiques qui en sont issus, et des indicateurs pour mesurer chaque niveau de la cascade. Le troisième volet de la thèse porte sur une analyse de l'activité de plongée sur les habitats coralligènes de la baie de Marseille. Le dernier volet de la thèse est une étude des préférences déclarées dans les secteurs de Marseille et Port-Cros concernant les services rendus par les habitats coralligènes, grâce à la méthode des choix discrets. Ce dernier volet comprend une étude de l’impact de la connaissance initiale et de l’apport d’information dans la formation des préférences. / The Mediterranean basin is recognized as a "hotspot" of biodiversity subjected to strong anthropic pressures. In the marine domain, coralligenous habitats greatly contribute to the basin’s biodiversity and their coastal location makes them accessible to humans. The thesis attempts to identify and economically evaluate some of those ecosystem services. I used the concept of \textit{ecosystem service} at a local scale, focusing on the Bay of Marseille (anthropized) and the Port-Cros national park (under minimal human pressure). The first part of the thesis deals with the identification and description of the services rendered by coralligenous habitats in the study areas. The second part of the thesis describes the provisionning services through the application of the concept of ecosystem service cascade as developed by Haines-Young and Potschin. This approach helps to identify the elements and functions of the ecosystem involved in each service, the human beneficiaries and the types of economic benefits associated with the services. This chapter also proposes variables to measure each level of the cascade. The third part of the thesis deals with an analysis of the relationship between the presence of coralligenous habitat and the frequency of dives in the Bay of Marseille. The last part of the thesis employs the method of discrete choices experiment to study the declared preferences in the study areas of Marseille and Port-Cros concerning the services rendered by the coralligenous habitats. This analysis provided insight into how preferences can evolve as initial knowledge is enhanced through the provision of additional information.

Natural abundance of 15N varies greatly and unpredictably within and between environments. The unpredictable nature of 15N limits the use of N isotope natural abundance (d15N) in tracing the flow and fate of N in environments. Recent investigations have, however, revealed consistent and repeatable patterns of 15N in some ecosystem components. These patterns suggest that d15N may yet provide a tool to investigate and illuminate ecosystem N cycling processes. Identifying and quantifying the sources of isotopic variation must precede any significant advance in the application of this technique, and to this end an assessment of isotopic variation associated with major ecosystem components has been carried out in this thesis. d15N patterns have been established, hypotheses proposed and tested, and conclusions about the application of the technique are presented. 15N patterns in surface and groundwater were measured in a variety of different land-use catchments in an attempt to identify distinct isotopic 'fingerprints'. High levels of 15N variation were measured in both stream and groundwaters, resulting in strongly overlapping land-use 'fingerprints'. Environmental 15N variation in streams and groundwaters was found to be too great to differentiate between land-uses based on d15N alone. In contrast, the artificially 15N enriched signature of effluent N was used to trace its flow and fate, following irrigation, in a forested catchment. The effluent d15N signature allowed it to be traced into the major ecosystem components, permitting a first order N budget to be determined for effluent N storage and loss. N sources with significantly different 15N signatures to that of 'background ecosystem N' can therefore be used to trace the flow and fate of N in ecosystems. During the course of this work a number of higher and lower order plants were observed to have highly depleted (lt; -8 ) d15N signatures. Epiphytes and lithophytes, strongly reliant on atmospheric N sources, were consistently depleted in 15N, with signatures as low as -24 , measured in a range of environments. A similar level of depletion was measured in a wide range of plants growing in early primary succession sites (as low as -22.3 ), which could not be accounted for by any abiotic or biotic factor or significantly depleted N source. The absence of any measurable driver of depletion suggested a universal fractionating mechanism which acts in a wide range of environments and vegetation types. Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) and the proportional uptake of a supplied N source were two proposed mechanisms that could theoretically account for the level and universal nature of depletion. Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) was tested as a primary fractionating mechanism in plants. Strongly N deficient plants were capable of utilising NH3(g) as a nutritional source, but the level of 15N depletion measured in these plants closely approximated that of the inherent NH3(g) d15N signature. No significant additional fractionation is associated with NH3(g) diffusive uptake. Diffusive uptake of atmospheric NH3(g) by plants cannot alone account for the level of depletion measured in early primary succession plant communities. Proportional uptake of a N source as a primary fractionating mechanism was tested by growing plants in various concentrations and rates of applied N. Fractionation attributed to the proportional uptake of a supplied N source, as a consequence of P limitation or rapid flow over roots, resulted in a significant level of 15N depletion in plants. The level of depletion attributed to this mechanism was, however, not sufficient to account for the level measured in early primary succession plant communities. Individual 15N fractionating mechanisms cannot alone explain the level of depletion observed in early primary succession plants, however a combination of fractionating mechanisms can. Fractionation attributed to the proportional uptake of an already depleted N source, i.e., wet deposited N, largely accounts for the level of depletion measured in early succession plant communities. This two-step fractionation model can act on both higher and lower plants, independent of ecosystem biotic and abiotic factors. Additional, and less dramatic fractionations attributed to atmospheric NH3(g) uptake, mycorrhizal associations, internal remobilisation, and taxon-specific N acquisition strategies, will contribute to the level of d15N depletion. This thesis presents the first extensive survey of highly depleted d15N signatures in terrestrial vegetation. Furthermore, thorough testing of theoretically plausible mechanisms has resulted in a full account of the highly depleted d15N signatures measured in a wide range of vegetation types and environments.