Soil properties and microbial indicators of samples from Lake Wellman, Darwin Mountains, Antarctica, supplement to: Aislabie, Jackie; Bockheim, James G; McLeod, Malcolm; Hunter, David; Stevenson, Bryan; Barker, Gary M (2012): Microbial biomass and community structure changes along a soil development chronosequence near Lake Wellman, southern Victoria Land. Antarctic Science, 24(2), 154-164

Four pedons on each of four drift sheets in the Lake Wellman area of the Darwin Mountains were sampled for chemical and microbial analyses. The four drifts, Hatherton, Britannia, Danum, and Isca, ranged from early Holocene (10 ka) to mid-Quaternary (c. 900 ka). The soil properties of weathering stag...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Aislabie, Jackie, Bockheim, James G, McLeod, Malcolm, Hunter, David, Stevenson, Bryan, Barker, Gary M
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science 2012
Subjects:
Soil profile
International Polar Year 2007-2008 IPY
Antarctic
Bockheim
Britannia
Darwin Mountains
McLeod
Victoria Land
Wellman
Antarc*
Antarctica
International Polar Year
IPY
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.806198
https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.806198
Description
Summary:Four pedons on each of four drift sheets in the Lake Wellman area of the Darwin Mountains were sampled for chemical and microbial analyses. The four drifts, Hatherton, Britannia, Danum, and Isca, ranged from early Holocene (10 ka) to mid-Quaternary (c. 900 ka). The soil properties of weathering stage, salt stage, and depths of staining, visible salts, ghosts, and coherence increase with drift age. The landforms contain primarily high-centred polygons with windblown snow in the troughs. The soils are dominantly complexes of Typic Haplorthels and Typic Haploturbels. The soils were dry and alkaline with low levels of organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Electrical conductivity was high accompanied by high levels of water soluble anions and cations (especially calcium and sulphate in older soils). Soil microbial biomass, measured as phospholipid fatty acids, and numbers of culturable heterotrophic microbes, were low, with highest levels detected in less developed soils from the Hatherton drift. The microbial community structure of the Hatherton soil also differed from that of the Britannia, Danum and Isca soils. Ordination revealed the soil microbial community structure was influenced by soil development and organic carbon. : Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150

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