Microbial community response and pedogenesis under simulated climate change in Antarctic soils
Soil formation is an interplay of abiotic and biotic processes resulting in the aggregation of soil particles and formation of soil structure. Particle aggregation and soil structure stability are furthermore enhanced by cycling from wet to dry, and frozen to thawed conditions. Due to the extreme cold climate and limited water availability in large parts of Antarctica, soils show little pedogenic development and predominantly abiotic soil-forming processes were observed. Here, eight different setups of soil manipulation experiments involving two initial soils from James Ross Island, Maritime Antarctica, and changes in temperature, soil moisture and organic matter content, were conducted and analyzed in an integrated and interdisciplinary approach combining DNA-based molecular biological and soil chemical analyses. With these soil manipulation experiments, we aim to predict future changes to pedogenic processes as well as the response of soil microbial communities related to changing environmental conditions in Maritime Antarctica and to contribute to an improved understanding of the development of Antarctic soil environments and its microbial communities before and after higher plants occur on land.