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Antarctic Soil Properties and Soilscapes

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Abstract

Antarctica can be divided into eight ice-free regions that comprise 47,000 km2 (0.35%) of the continent and its offshore islands. Soils, as traditionally defined, cover most of this area. Soils of Antarctica are influenced primarily by regional differences in climate and age of the parent materials. Predominant soil-forming processes include rubification (reddening), salinization/alkalization (accumulation of soluble salts), carbonation, humification, cryoturbation, desert pavement formation, podzolization, permafrost formation, and phosphatization (accumulation of P from bird influence). Soils of Antarctica generally are coarse -textured with abundant coarse fragments (>2 mm) and a predominance of sand in the fine-earth (<2 mm) fraction. Many soils of Antarctica, particularly in the interior mountains, have low moisture contents. Permafrost occurs continuously in Antarctica except in the offshore islands, where it is discontinuous or sporadic. Whereas soils in the interior mountains often contain abundant salts and low levels of organic C and P, soils along the coast generally contain fewer salts and higher levels of organic C and total P. Although weathering processes tend to be slower in Antarctica than in other regions, mineral alteration can be advanced in soils of early Quaternary and older age. About 53% of the soils of Antarctica have been mapped at a reconnaissance scale. Gelisols (permafrost-affected soils) are dominant in most regions of Antarctica, but coastal areas may feature Inceptisols and Histosols. Key soil properties affecting the distribution and abundance of organisms include available water content, duration of the period in which the ground temperature exceeds 0°C, the level of soluble salts, pH, the relative abundance of inorganic and organic N, and the amount of organic C.

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Acknowledgments

An early draft of this manuscript was reviewed by Alfred Hartemink.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706-1299, USA

    J. G. Bockheim

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  1. J. G. Bockheim
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Correspondence to J. G. Bockheim .

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  1. University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa

    Don A. Cowan

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Bockheim, J.G. (2014). Antarctic Soil Properties and Soilscapes. In: Cowan, D. (eds) Antarctic Terrestrial Microbiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-45213-0_16

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