Soils of Cold and Permafrost‐Affected Landscapes

• Main Authors: Tarnocai, Charles, Bockheim, James G.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Wiley 2017
• Subjects: Arctic; permafrost
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0563; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2F9781118786352.wbieg0563; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0563

Cold soils and permafrost‐affected soils developed in arctic and boreal climates are found in both the northern and the southern circumpolar regions as well as in high elevations in mountainous terrain. Most of the cold soils, especially those containing permafrost, are affected by cryogenic processes, giving these soils unique macro and micro morphologies. They also contain huge amounts of soil carbon. Most of this soil carbon occurs in a frozen state and could be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane if the climate were to warm and much of the permafrost were to thaw. The additional inputs of greenhouse gases could then affect the global climate and accelerate further warming.