Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems
Among aquatic and terrestrial landscapes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, ecosystem stoichiometry ranges from values near the Redfield ratios for C:N:P to nutrient concentrations in proportions far above or below ratios necessary to support balanced microbial growth. This polar desert provide...
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ftportlandstate:oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:geog_fac-1015 2023-06-11T04:06:02+02:00 Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems Barrett, John E. Virginia, Ross A. Lyons, W. Berry McKnight, Diane M. Priscu, John Charles Doran, Peter T. Fountain, Andrew G. Wall, Diana H. Moorhead, D. L. 2007-02-07T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_fac/16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JG000141 https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/context/geog_fac/article/1015/viewcontent/biogeochemical_stoichiometry_of_antarctic.pdf unknown PDXScholar https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_fac/16 doi:10.1029/2005JG000141 https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/context/geog_fac/article/1015/viewcontent/biogeochemical_stoichiometry_of_antarctic.pdf Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations Desert ecology -- Antarctica -- McMurdo Dry Valleys Biogeochemistry -- Cold regions Nutrient cycles -- Antarctica --McMurdo Dry Valleys Environmental Sciences Glaciology text 2007 ftportlandstate https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JG000141 2023-05-04T18:02:20Z Among aquatic and terrestrial landscapes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, ecosystem stoichiometry ranges from values near the Redfield ratios for C:N:P to nutrient concentrations in proportions far above or below ratios necessary to support balanced microbial growth. This polar desert provides an opportunity to evaluate stoichiometric approaches to understand nutrient cycling in an ecosystem where biological diversity and activity are low, and controls over the movement and mass balances of nutrients operate over 10–10⁶ years. The simple organisms (microbial and metazoan) comprising dry valley foodwebs adhere to strict biochemical requirements in the composition of their biomass, and when activated by availability of liquid water, they influence the chemical composition of their environment according to these ratios. Nitrogen and phosphorus varied significantly in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems occurring on landscape surfaces across a wide range of exposure ages, indicating strong influences of landscape development and geochemistry on nutrient availability. Biota control the elemental ratio of stream waters, while geochemical stoichiometry (e.g., weathering, atmospheric deposition) evidently limits the distribution of soil invertebrates. We present a conceptual model describing transformations across dry valley landscapes facilitated by exchanges of liquid water and biotic processing of dissolved nutrients. We conclude that contemporary ecosystem stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley soils, glaciers, streams, and lakes results from a combination of extant biological processes superimposed on a legacy of landscape processes and previous climates. Text Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert Portland State University: PDXScholar Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys Journal of Geophysical Research 112 G1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Portland State University: PDXScholar |
op_collection_id |
ftportlandstate |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Desert ecology -- Antarctica -- McMurdo Dry Valleys Biogeochemistry -- Cold regions Nutrient cycles -- Antarctica --McMurdo Dry Valleys Environmental Sciences Glaciology |
spellingShingle |
Desert ecology -- Antarctica -- McMurdo Dry Valleys Biogeochemistry -- Cold regions Nutrient cycles -- Antarctica --McMurdo Dry Valleys Environmental Sciences Glaciology Barrett, John E. Virginia, Ross A. Lyons, W. Berry McKnight, Diane M. Priscu, John Charles Doran, Peter T. Fountain, Andrew G. Wall, Diana H. Moorhead, D. L. Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
topic_facet |
Desert ecology -- Antarctica -- McMurdo Dry Valleys Biogeochemistry -- Cold regions Nutrient cycles -- Antarctica --McMurdo Dry Valleys Environmental Sciences Glaciology |
description |
Among aquatic and terrestrial landscapes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, ecosystem stoichiometry ranges from values near the Redfield ratios for C:N:P to nutrient concentrations in proportions far above or below ratios necessary to support balanced microbial growth. This polar desert provides an opportunity to evaluate stoichiometric approaches to understand nutrient cycling in an ecosystem where biological diversity and activity are low, and controls over the movement and mass balances of nutrients operate over 10–10⁶ years. The simple organisms (microbial and metazoan) comprising dry valley foodwebs adhere to strict biochemical requirements in the composition of their biomass, and when activated by availability of liquid water, they influence the chemical composition of their environment according to these ratios. Nitrogen and phosphorus varied significantly in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems occurring on landscape surfaces across a wide range of exposure ages, indicating strong influences of landscape development and geochemistry on nutrient availability. Biota control the elemental ratio of stream waters, while geochemical stoichiometry (e.g., weathering, atmospheric deposition) evidently limits the distribution of soil invertebrates. We present a conceptual model describing transformations across dry valley landscapes facilitated by exchanges of liquid water and biotic processing of dissolved nutrients. We conclude that contemporary ecosystem stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley soils, glaciers, streams, and lakes results from a combination of extant biological processes superimposed on a legacy of landscape processes and previous climates. |
format |
Text |
author |
Barrett, John E. Virginia, Ross A. Lyons, W. Berry McKnight, Diane M. Priscu, John Charles Doran, Peter T. Fountain, Andrew G. Wall, Diana H. Moorhead, D. L. |
author_facet |
Barrett, John E. Virginia, Ross A. Lyons, W. Berry McKnight, Diane M. Priscu, John Charles Doran, Peter T. Fountain, Andrew G. Wall, Diana H. Moorhead, D. L. |
author_sort |
Barrett, John E. |
title |
Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
title_short |
Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
title_full |
Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
title_fullStr |
Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biogeochemical Stoichiometry of Antarctic Dry Valley Ecosystems |
title_sort |
biogeochemical stoichiometry of antarctic dry valley ecosystems |
publisher |
PDXScholar |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_fac/16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JG000141 https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/context/geog_fac/article/1015/viewcontent/biogeochemical_stoichiometry_of_antarctic.pdf |
geographic |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valleys |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica McMurdo Dry Valleys polar desert |
op_source |
Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations |
op_relation |
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/geog_fac/16 doi:10.1029/2005JG000141 https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/context/geog_fac/article/1015/viewcontent/biogeochemical_stoichiometry_of_antarctic.pdf |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JG000141 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
112 |
container_issue |
G1 |
_version_ |
1768377763550461952 |