Distribution and characterization of soils and landform relationships in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica

Moura, Pedro Adnet; Francelino, Márcio Rocha; Schaefer, Carlos Ernesto Gonçalves Reynaud; Simas, Felipe Nogueira Bello; Mendonça, Bruno Araújo Furtado de

doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.12.011

Cited by 67 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Mean annual precipitation is 444.5 mm, with 75% falling in summer and autumn (Bañón, Justel, Velázquez, & Quesada, ). The bedrock of Livingston Island is a low‐grade metamorphic turbidite sequence with volcanic to volcanoclastic rocks, intruded by igneous bodies (Arche, López‐Martínez, & Martínez de Pisón, ; Moura, Francelino, Schaefer, Simas, & de Mendonça, ). Besides two native flowering plant species ( Deschampsia antarctica Desv.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature?

Colesie

Büdel

Hurry

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

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The Antarctic Peninsula, a tundra biome dominated by lichens and bryophytes, is an ecozone undergoing rapid temperature shifts. Such changes may demand a high physiological plasticity of the local lichen species to maintain their role as key drivers in this pristine habitat. This study examines the response of net photosynthesis and respiration to increasing temperatures for three Antarctic lichen species with different ecological response amplitudes. We hypothesize that negative effects caused by increased temperatures can be mitigated by thermal acclimation of respiration and/or photosynthesis. The fully controlled growth chamber experiment simulated intermediate and extreme temperature increases over the time course of 6 weeks. Results showed that, in contrast to our hypothesis, none of the species was able to down-regulate temperature-driven respiratory losses through thermal acclimation of respiration. Instead, severe effects on photobiont vitality demonstrated that temperatures around 15°C mark the upper limit for the two species restricted to the Antarctic, and when mycobiont demands exceeded the photobiont capacity they could not survive within the lichen thallus. In contrast, the widespread lichen species was able to recover its homoeostasis by rapidly increasing net photosynthesis. We conclude that to understand the complete lichen response, acclimation processes of both symbionts, the photo- and the mycobiont, have to be evaluated separately. As a result, we postulate that any acclimation processes in lichen are species-specific. This, together with the high degree of response variability and sensitivity to temperature in different species that co-occur spatially close, complicates any predictions regarding future community composition in the Antarctic. Nevertheless, our results suggest that species with a broad ecological amplitude may be favoured with on-going changes in temperature.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature?

Colesie

Büdel

Hurry

et al. 2017

Global Change Biology

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“…Both climate stations provide correlative data, but show that the western side of the Island is colder and windier. The bedrock of Livingston Island is a low-grade metamorphic turbidite sequence with volcanic to volcanoclastic rocks, intruded by igneous bodies (Arche et al 1992;Moura et al 2012). The surface soil of the A-horizon (0-5 cm) of the test sites was characterised by sandy loam as the dominating texture class, mean values of pH (H 2 O) are 7.3-7.7, electrical conductivity is 28-33 lS cm -1 , total organic carbon content is 0.39-0.56 %, total nitrogen contents are about 0.06-0.10 % (Otero et al 2013), and bioavailable (Mehlich-extractable) phosphorus contents are 7-40 mg kg -1 .…”

Section: Livingston Islandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological soil crusts of Arctic Svalbard and of Livingston Island, Antarctica

et al. 2016

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Biological soil crusts (BSCs) occur in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide including the Polar Regions. They are important ecosystem engineers, and their composition and areal coverage should be understood before assessing key current functional questions such as their role in biogeochemical nutrient cycles and possible climate change scenarios. Our aim was to investigate the variability of BSCs from Arctic Svalbard and the Antarctic Island, Livingston, using vegetation surveys based on classification by functional group. An additional aim was to describe the structure of BSCs and represent a classification system that can be used in future studies to provide a fast and efficient way to define vegetation type and areal coverage. Firstly, this study demonstrates huge areas occupied by BSCs in Arctic Svalbard, with up to 90 % of soil surface covered, dominated by bryophytes and cyanobacteria, and showing an unexpectedly high variability in many areas. Livingston Island has lower percentage coverage, up to 55 %, but is dominated by lichens. Our findings show that both Polar Regions have varied BSC coverage, within the sites and between them, especially considering their harsh climates and latitudinal positions. Secondly, we have classified the BSCs of both areas into a system that describes the dominant functional groups and local geography, creating a simple scheme that allows easy identification of the prevailing vegetation type. Our results represent the first contribution to the description of BSCs based on their functional group composition in Polar Regions.

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“…They are composed of volcanic, volcanoclastic, and detritic materials (mainly sandstones, mudstones, and conglomerates) of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, as well as intrusive rocks such as sills and dikes of Cretaceous age (Smellie et al, 1980(Smellie et al, , 1984Hathway and Lomas, 1998;Parica et al, 2007). These platforms are surrounded by seven levels of Holocene raised beaches López-Martínez et al, 1996;Hall and Perry, 2004;Moura et al, 2012). Some volcanic plugs stand out from the central plateau, such as Cerro Negro (143 m a.s.l.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of frozen ground conditions along a coastal topographic gradient at Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica) by geophysical and geoecological methods

Correia

Oliva

Fernández

2017

CATENA

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Geophysical surveying and geoelectrical methods are effective to study permafrost distribution and conditions in polar environments. Geoelectrical methods are particularly suited to study the spatial distribution of permafrost because of its high electrical resistivity in comparison with that of soil or rock above 0°C. In the South Shetland Islands permafrost is considered to be discontinuous up to elevations of 20-40 m a.s.l., changing to continuous at higher altitudes. There are no specific data about the distribution of permafrost in Byers Peninsula, in Livingston Island, which is the largest ice-free area in the South Shetland Islands. With the purpose of better understanding the occurrence of permanent frozen conditions in this area, a geophysical survey using an electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) methodology was conducted during the January 2015 field season, combined with geomorphological and ecological studies. Three overlapping electrical resistivity tomographies of 78 m each were done along the same profile which ran from the coast to the highest raised beaches. The three electrical resistivity tomographies are combined in an electrical resistivity model which represents the distribution of the electrical resistivity of the ground to depths of about 13 m along 158 m. Several patches of high electrical resistivity were found, and interpreted as patches of sporadic permafrost. The lower limits of sporadic to discontinuous permafrost in the area are confirmed by the presence of permafrost-related landforms nearby. There is a close correspondence between moss patches and permafrost patches along the geoelectrical transect.

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Distribution and characterization of soils and landform relationships in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica

Cited by 67 publications

References 28 publications

Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature?

Can Antarctic lichens acclimatize to changes in temperature?

Biological soil crusts of Arctic Svalbard and of Livingston Island, Antarctica

Evaluation of frozen ground conditions along a coastal topographic gradient at Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, Antarctica) by geophysical and geoecological methods

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