Investigation of the effect of elevation and topography on soil biota and soil properties was part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project. The number of soil organisms (nematodes, rotifers and tardigrades), divided by species, sex and maturity was monitored at 3 elevations, initially in Taylor Valley (1993) then Garwood and Miers Valleys (2012) in order to accomplish this.
Dataset Results
Increases in soil temperature and moisture may change the bioavailability of essential elements by altering solubility and diffusion rates in soils, or by changing the amounts of organic compounds. Long-term experiments in the Bonney, Hoare and Fryxell basins have been established with 3 treatments: 1) increased moisture, 2) soil warming (ITEX chambers), and 3) soil warming + increased moisture. The identification and abundance of soil biota are reported.
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Climate warming in polar regions is associated with thawing of permafrost, resulting in significant changes in soil hydrology, biogeochemical cycling, and in the activity and composition of soil communities. While ongoing, directional climate warming can elicit such responses over decadal time scales, their manifestation typically occurs as discrete thawing pulses. Indeed, in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica abrupt changes in community structure and biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems following a summer warming event (Jan.
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During the 2017-2018 austral summer, a survey of soil invertebrate diversity and abundance was conducted throughout the Shackleton Glacier region of Antarctica to investigate whether habitat suitability, taxonomic diversity, and community composition follow predictable temporal patterns after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Soil samples were collected along elevation transects from twelve ice-free areas to capture maximum variation in soil properties, geochemistry, and surface exposure age.
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This data package includes ecological parameters of biocrust and soil from samples collected in-situ within the Lake Fryxell Basin of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica during December of 2019. Parameters include biological (ash-free dry mass, pigment concentration, and counts of soil invertebrates), physical (water content, electrical conductivity, and pH), and chemical properties (inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon) of the surface soil, biocrust, and underlying soil.