Soil development and soil biology on King George Island, Maritime Antarctic

Abstract

Abstract:This review covers aspects of soil science and soil biology of Antarctica with special focus on King George Island, South Shetlands, the martitime Antarctic. New approaches in soil descriptions and soil taxonomy show a great variety of soil types, related to different parent material, mainly volcanic origin, as well as on influences by soil biological processes. The spread of higher rooting plants attract microorganisms, nematodes and collemboles which in turn build new organic material and change the environment for further successors. Microbial communities are drivers with respect to metabolic and physiological properties indicating a great potential in a changing environment. The literature review also shows a lack of investi− gations on processes of carbon and nitrogen turnover, despite wide knowledge on its standing stock in different environments. Further, only few reports were found on the processes of humification. Only few data are available which can be regarded as long term monitorings, hence, such projects need to be established in order to follow ecological changes.

Interpreting environmental changes from radionuclides and soil characteristics in different landform contexts of Elephant Island (maritime Antarctica)

“…The marked difference between the acidic soils on platforms and the alkaline soils on moraines correspond to the more recent exposure of the latter that preserve most the characteristics of the parent material as the close link with carbonates in the depth profiles of soils on moraines also suggests. These patterns coincide with the geographical distribution of alkaline pH values linked to that of parent material found in the proximity to glaciers and tending to acidification towards the coast, where fauna activity increases producing strong acids by the mineralization of guano (Tatur & Barczuk, ) and soil processes had been acting longer (Bölter, ; Bölter, Blume, Schneider, & Beyer, ; Navas et al, ; Wilhelm, Bockheim, & Haus, ).…”

Ionic composition of terrestrial surface waters in Maritime Antarctic and the processes involved in formation

“…However, Chacon et al (2013) showed that the less extreme microclimatic conditions and the presence of liquid water in the ice-free area promote the biogeochemical cycling of soil P. Soils of the area contain secondary minerals, such as haematite and the intergrade chlorite-vermiculite-montmorillonite. Similarly, N in these soils usually has the form of a salt (Bolter 2011). As demonstrated by Green et al (2005), a comparatively low NO 3 - /Cl - ratio (0.003–0.018) indicates that atmospheric precipitation may be the source of N.…”

The impacts of deglaciation and human activity on the taxonomic structure of prokaryotic communities in Antarctic soils on King George Island

“…The most investigated area in West Antarctica in terms of pedological alterations of the solum is King George Island, particularly the Fildes Peninsula. The soil diversity and genesis have been described in relation to environmental conditions (Bolter 2001), and the soils of King George Island are considered to be the most developed in the whole of the Antarctic Peninsula (Simas et al . 2015).…”