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.
Dataset Results
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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A study was conducted to examine soil microbial communities and associated geochemical parameters at potential glacial refugia and glaciated control sites throughout the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of Antarctica. Soil samples were collected as part of ongoing long-term monitoring efforts by the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research program (MCM LTER). The oldest samples used in this study were collected during the 1993-1994 austral summer, and the newest from the 2018-2019 austral summer.
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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.