abstract
As ecologist to the second (1971/72) and third (1972/73) South African biological research expeditions to Marion Island, the author spent two summer seasons on the island involved in an investigation into the nutrient status of the island's plants and soils. Some of the results of this investigation are provided in an account of the standing crop of black lava vegetation and in a comparison of the chemical compositions of tussock grassland and non-tussock grassland plants. This paper presents estimates of the amounts or mineral elements contained in the plants and soils of the island’s eastern coastal plain.