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Landscape-scale soil phosphorus variability in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2017

Ruth C. Heindel Open the ORCID record for Ruth C. Heindel [Opens in a new window] ,
Angela M. Spickard  and
Ross A. Virginia
Ruth C. Heindel*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, HB 6105 Fairchild Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
Angela M. Spickard
Affiliation:
Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College, HB 6182 Steele Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
Ross A. Virginia
Affiliation:
Environmental Studies Program, Dartmouth College, HB 6182 Steele Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA Institute of Arctic Studies, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
*
ruth.c.heindel.gr@dartmouth.edu
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Abstract

The predicted increase in liquid water availability in the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica, may have profound consequences for nutrient cycling in soil and aquatic ecosystems. Our ability to predict future changes relies on our understanding of current nutrient cycling processes. Multiple hypotheses exist to explain the variability in soil phosphorus content and availability found throughout the MDV region. We analysed 146 surface soil samples from the MDV to determine the relative importance of parent material, landscape age, soil chemistry and texture, and topography on two biologically relevant phosphorus pools, HCl- and NaHCO3-extractable phosphorus. While HCl-extractable phosphorus is highly predicted by parent material, NaHCO3-extractable phosphorus is unrelated to parent material but is significantly correlated with soil conductivity, soil texture and topography. Neither measure of soil phosphorus was related to landscape age across a gradient of ~20 000 to 1 500 000 years. Glacial history has played an important role in the availability of soil phosphorus by shaping patterns of soil texture and parent material. With a predicted increase in water availability, the rate of mineral weathering may increase, releasing more HCl-extractable phosphorus into soil and aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords

Antarcticamineral weatheringnutrient cyclingparent materialTaylor Valley
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , June 2017 , pp. 252 - 263
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Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2017 

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