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Soils of the Broknes Peninsula, East Antarctica

  • GENESIS AND GEOGRAPHY OF SOILS
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Abstract—

Data on weakly developed permafrost-affected soils (Cryosols) in the eastern part of Broknes Peninsula, the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica are presented. Four key plots characterizing wet and dry habitats within two valleys, an elevated dry area with visual signs of salinization, and an area with a moss ecosystem were studied within the framework of the 12th Belarusian Antarctic Expedition in January–February 2020. Data on the soil particle-size distribution, bulk elemental composition, acidity, and the contents of organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nutrients, exchangeable bases, and water-soluble compounds are discussed. The variability of the main indicators of studied soils is shown. The Si2O3/R2O3 ratio varies from 2.9 (for the slopes of the valleys) to 5.2 (for the saline area). The highest contents of Corg (2.62%), Ntot (0.42%), and P2O5 (117.8 mg/kg) are characteristic of the soils of the moss ecosystem, as well as waterlogged habitats of wet valleys (1.84%, 0.20% and 108.2 mg/kg, respectively). The soils of saline area are characterized by an increased content of K2O (217.3 mg/kg) and a high percent of exchangeable sodium (up to 37–44%). The studied soils develop under different contributions of soil-forming factors with a dominance of lithogenic (site I), biogenic (site II), geomorphic (valley slopes at site III), and hydrological and biogenic (valley bottoms at sites III and IV) factors. Data on soil properties obtained in this study supplement the database on Antarctic soils and can be used as the basis for subsequent assessment of their functioning depending on climate change and anthropogenic loads.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This study was carried out within the framework of the state program “Monitoring of the polar regions of the Earth, the creation of the Belarusian Antarctic station, and ensuring the activities of polar expeditions for 2016–2020.” The authors are grateful to the leadership of the 12th Belarusian Antarctic Expedition and the 65th Russian Antarctic Expedition, as well as to the head of the Progress Antarctic station D.A. Mamadaliev for assistance in conducting research and organizing storage and transportation of samples. The authors are grateful to M.A. Kudrevich for the analysis of soil water extracts and groundwater samples and to Yu.G. Kokosh and V.D. Chernyuk for the pretreatment of soil samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Nature Management, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 220076, Minsk, Belarus

    T. I. Kukharchyk & S. V. Kakareka

  2. Scientific and Practical Center for Bioresources, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 220072, Minsk, Belarus

    Yu. G. Giginyak

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  1. T. I. Kukharchyk
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Correspondence to T. I. Kukharchyk.

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Kukharchyk, T.I., Kakareka, S.V. & Giginyak, Y.G. Soils of the Broknes Peninsula, East Antarctica. Eurasian Soil Sc. 55, 1673–1688 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229322700016

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