Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland
Lava flows pose a hazard in volcanic environments and reset ecosystem development. A succession of dated lava flows provides the possibility to estimate the direction and rates of ecosystem development and can be used to predict future development. We examine plant succession, soil development and s...
Published in: | Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment |
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eScholarship, University of California
2018
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Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zj4t818/qt4zj4t818.pdf https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133318798754 |
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org:ark:/13030/qt4zj4t818 2024-09-09T19:25:01+00:00 Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland Vilmundardóttir, Olga Kolbrún Sigurmundsson, Friðþór Sófus Pedersen, Gro Birkefeldt Møller Belart, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Kizel, Fadi Falco, Nicola Benediktsson, Jón Atli Gísladóttir, Guðrún 765 - 791 2018-12-01 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zj4t818/qt4zj4t818.pdf https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133318798754 unknown eScholarship, University of California qt4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zj4t818/qt4zj4t818.pdf doi:10.1177/0309133318798754 public Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment, vol 42, iss 6 Soil carbon stock lava chronosequence moss thickening rate Racomitrium lanuginosum soil accumulation rate soil depth tephra deposition Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Environmental Science and Management Geography article 2018 ftcdlib https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133318798754 2024-06-28T06:28:19Z Lava flows pose a hazard in volcanic environments and reset ecosystem development. A succession of dated lava flows provides the possibility to estimate the direction and rates of ecosystem development and can be used to predict future development. We examine plant succession, soil development and soil carbon (C) accretion on the historical (post 874 AD) lava flows formed by the Hekla volcano in south Iceland. Vegetation and soil measurements were conducted all around the volcano reflecting the diverse vegetation communities on the lavas, climatic conditions around Hekla mountain and various intensities in deposition of loose material. Multivariate analysis was used to identify groups with similar vegetation composition and patterns in the vegetation. The association of vegetation and soil parameters with lava age, mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and soil accumulation rate (SAR) was analysed. Soil carbon concentration increased with increasing lava age becoming comparable to concentrations found on the prehistoric lavas. The combination of a sub-Arctic climate, gradual soil thickening due to input of loose material and the specific properties of volcanic soils allow for continuing accumulation of soil carbon in the soil profile. Four successional stages were identified: initial colonization and cover coalescence (ICC) of Racomitrium lanuginosum and Stereocaulon spp. (lavas <70 years of age); secondary colonization (SC) – R. lanuginosum dominance (170−700 years); vascular plant dominance (VPD) (>600 years); and highland conditions/retrogression (H/R) by tephra deposition (70−860 years). The long time span of the SC stage indicates arrested development by the thick R. lanuginosum moss mat. The progression from SC into VPD was linked to age of the lava flows and soil depth, which was significantly deeper within the VPD stage. Birch was growing on lavas over 600 years old indicating the development towards birch woodland, the climax ecosystem in Iceland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Hekla Iceland University of California: eScholarship Arctic Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment 42 6 765 791 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Soil carbon stock lava chronosequence moss thickening rate Racomitrium lanuginosum soil accumulation rate soil depth tephra deposition Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Environmental Science and Management Geography |
spellingShingle |
Soil carbon stock lava chronosequence moss thickening rate Racomitrium lanuginosum soil accumulation rate soil depth tephra deposition Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Environmental Science and Management Geography Vilmundardóttir, Olga Kolbrún Sigurmundsson, Friðþór Sófus Pedersen, Gro Birkefeldt Møller Belart, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Kizel, Fadi Falco, Nicola Benediktsson, Jón Atli Gísladóttir, Guðrún Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
topic_facet |
Soil carbon stock lava chronosequence moss thickening rate Racomitrium lanuginosum soil accumulation rate soil depth tephra deposition Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience Environmental Science and Management Geography |
description |
Lava flows pose a hazard in volcanic environments and reset ecosystem development. A succession of dated lava flows provides the possibility to estimate the direction and rates of ecosystem development and can be used to predict future development. We examine plant succession, soil development and soil carbon (C) accretion on the historical (post 874 AD) lava flows formed by the Hekla volcano in south Iceland. Vegetation and soil measurements were conducted all around the volcano reflecting the diverse vegetation communities on the lavas, climatic conditions around Hekla mountain and various intensities in deposition of loose material. Multivariate analysis was used to identify groups with similar vegetation composition and patterns in the vegetation. The association of vegetation and soil parameters with lava age, mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and soil accumulation rate (SAR) was analysed. Soil carbon concentration increased with increasing lava age becoming comparable to concentrations found on the prehistoric lavas. The combination of a sub-Arctic climate, gradual soil thickening due to input of loose material and the specific properties of volcanic soils allow for continuing accumulation of soil carbon in the soil profile. Four successional stages were identified: initial colonization and cover coalescence (ICC) of Racomitrium lanuginosum and Stereocaulon spp. (lavas <70 years of age); secondary colonization (SC) – R. lanuginosum dominance (170−700 years); vascular plant dominance (VPD) (>600 years); and highland conditions/retrogression (H/R) by tephra deposition (70−860 years). The long time span of the SC stage indicates arrested development by the thick R. lanuginosum moss mat. The progression from SC into VPD was linked to age of the lava flows and soil depth, which was significantly deeper within the VPD stage. Birch was growing on lavas over 600 years old indicating the development towards birch woodland, the climax ecosystem in Iceland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vilmundardóttir, Olga Kolbrún Sigurmundsson, Friðþór Sófus Pedersen, Gro Birkefeldt Møller Belart, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Kizel, Fadi Falco, Nicola Benediktsson, Jón Atli Gísladóttir, Guðrún |
author_facet |
Vilmundardóttir, Olga Kolbrún Sigurmundsson, Friðþór Sófus Pedersen, Gro Birkefeldt Møller Belart, Joaquín Muñoz-Cobo Kizel, Fadi Falco, Nicola Benediktsson, Jón Atli Gísladóttir, Guðrún |
author_sort |
Vilmundardóttir, Olga Kolbrún |
title |
Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
title_short |
Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
title_full |
Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Of mosses and men: Plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-Arctic volcanic landscape of Hekla, Iceland |
title_sort |
of mosses and men: plant succession, soil development and soil carbon accretion in the sub-arctic volcanic landscape of hekla, iceland |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zj4t818/qt4zj4t818.pdf https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133318798754 |
op_coverage |
765 - 791 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Hekla Iceland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Hekla Iceland |
op_source |
Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment, vol 42, iss 6 |
op_relation |
qt4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4zj4t818 https://escholarship.org/content/qt4zj4t818/qt4zj4t818.pdf doi:10.1177/0309133318798754 |
op_rights |
public |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133318798754 |
container_title |
Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment |
container_volume |
42 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
765 |
op_container_end_page |
791 |
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