Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica
Integrated studies on the interplay between soils, periglacial geomorphology and plant communities are crucial for the understanding of climate change effects on terrestrial ecosystems of maritime Antarctica, one of the most sensitive areas to global warming. Knowledge on physical environmental fact...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:781ac9e180a347f089b19da88d4794fc 2023-05-15T13:56:49+02:00 Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica E. L. Poelking C. E. R. Schaefer E. I. Fernandes Filho A. M. de Andrade A. A. Spielmann 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-583-2015 https://doaj.org/article/781ac9e180a347f089b19da88d4794fc EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.solid-earth.net/6/583/2015/se-6-583-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1869-9510 https://doaj.org/toc/1869-9529 1869-9510 1869-9529 doi:10.5194/se-6-583-2015 https://doaj.org/article/781ac9e180a347f089b19da88d4794fc Solid Earth, Vol 6, Iss 2, Pp 583-594 (2015) Geology QE1-996.5 Stratigraphy QE640-699 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-583-2015 2022-12-31T04:43:07Z Integrated studies on the interplay between soils, periglacial geomorphology and plant communities are crucial for the understanding of climate change effects on terrestrial ecosystems of maritime Antarctica, one of the most sensitive areas to global warming. Knowledge on physical environmental factors that influence plant communities can greatly benefit studies on the monitoring of climate change in maritime Antarctica, where new ice-free areas are being constantly exposed, allowing plant growth and organic carbon inputs. The relationship between topography, plant communities and soils was investigated on Potter Peninsula, King George Island, maritime Antarctica. We mapped the occurrence and distribution of plant communities and identified soil–landform–vegetation relationships. The vegetation map was obtained by classification of a QuickBird image, coupled with detailed landform and characterization of 18 soil profiles. The sub-formations were identified and classified, and we also determined the total elemental composition of lichens, mosses and grasses. Plant communities on Potter Peninsula occupy 23% of the ice-free area, at different landscape positions, showing decreasing diversity and biomass from the coastal zone to inland areas where sub-desert conditions prevail. There is a clear dependency between landform and vegetated soils. Soils that have greater moisture or are poorly drained, and with acid to neutral pH, are favourable for moss sub-formations. Saline, organic-matter-rich ornithogenic soils of former penguin rookeries have greater biomass and diversity, with mixed associations of mosses and grasses, while stable felsenmeers and flat rocky cryoplanation surfaces are the preferred sites for Usnea and Himantormia lugubris lichens at the highest surface. Lichens sub-formations cover the largest vegetated area, showing varying associations with mosses. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica King George Island Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles King George Island Potter Peninsula ENVELOPE(-58.658,-58.658,-62.246,-62.246) Solid Earth 6 2 583 594 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Geology QE1-996.5 Stratigraphy QE640-699 |
spellingShingle |
Geology QE1-996.5 Stratigraphy QE640-699 E. L. Poelking C. E. R. Schaefer E. I. Fernandes Filho A. M. de Andrade A. A. Spielmann Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Geology QE1-996.5 Stratigraphy QE640-699 |
description |
Integrated studies on the interplay between soils, periglacial geomorphology and plant communities are crucial for the understanding of climate change effects on terrestrial ecosystems of maritime Antarctica, one of the most sensitive areas to global warming. Knowledge on physical environmental factors that influence plant communities can greatly benefit studies on the monitoring of climate change in maritime Antarctica, where new ice-free areas are being constantly exposed, allowing plant growth and organic carbon inputs. The relationship between topography, plant communities and soils was investigated on Potter Peninsula, King George Island, maritime Antarctica. We mapped the occurrence and distribution of plant communities and identified soil–landform–vegetation relationships. The vegetation map was obtained by classification of a QuickBird image, coupled with detailed landform and characterization of 18 soil profiles. The sub-formations were identified and classified, and we also determined the total elemental composition of lichens, mosses and grasses. Plant communities on Potter Peninsula occupy 23% of the ice-free area, at different landscape positions, showing decreasing diversity and biomass from the coastal zone to inland areas where sub-desert conditions prevail. There is a clear dependency between landform and vegetated soils. Soils that have greater moisture or are poorly drained, and with acid to neutral pH, are favourable for moss sub-formations. Saline, organic-matter-rich ornithogenic soils of former penguin rookeries have greater biomass and diversity, with mixed associations of mosses and grasses, while stable felsenmeers and flat rocky cryoplanation surfaces are the preferred sites for Usnea and Himantormia lugubris lichens at the highest surface. Lichens sub-formations cover the largest vegetated area, showing varying associations with mosses. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
E. L. Poelking C. E. R. Schaefer E. I. Fernandes Filho A. M. de Andrade A. A. Spielmann |
author_facet |
E. L. Poelking C. E. R. Schaefer E. I. Fernandes Filho A. M. de Andrade A. A. Spielmann |
author_sort |
E. L. Poelking |
title |
Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
title_short |
Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
title_full |
Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on Potter Peninsula, maritime Antarctica |
title_sort |
soil–landform–plant-community relationships of a periglacial landscape on potter peninsula, maritime antarctica |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-583-2015 https://doaj.org/article/781ac9e180a347f089b19da88d4794fc |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-58.658,-58.658,-62.246,-62.246) |
geographic |
King George Island Potter Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
King George Island Potter Peninsula |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica King George Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica King George Island |
op_source |
Solid Earth, Vol 6, Iss 2, Pp 583-594 (2015) |
op_relation |
http://www.solid-earth.net/6/583/2015/se-6-583-2015.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1869-9510 https://doaj.org/toc/1869-9529 1869-9510 1869-9529 doi:10.5194/se-6-583-2015 https://doaj.org/article/781ac9e180a347f089b19da88d4794fc |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-6-583-2015 |
container_title |
Solid Earth |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
583 |
op_container_end_page |
594 |
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1766264405521072128 |