Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28534
Title: Soil properties on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island: Fundamental indicators of ecosystem function and potential change
Contributor(s): Wilson, Brian R  (author)orcid ; Wilson, Susan C  (author)orcid ; Sindel, Brian  (author)orcid ; Williams, Laura K (author); Hawking, Kirsten L (author); Shaw, Justine (author); Tighe, Matthew  (author); Hua, Quan (author); Kristiansen, Paul  (author)orcid 
Publication Date: 2019-06
Early Online Version: 2019-02-23
DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2019.02.007
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/28534
Abstract: We examined the nature and properties of soils on Australian sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island to determine key environmental factors driving their distribution, development and change. We provide the first classification of these soils using Australian and international (WRB) systems while combining elemental, stable and radio-isotope analysis to interpret processes of soil formation and key controlling environmental factors. Soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations across the island were influenced largely by elevation and topographic position with coastal soils and wetter depressions containing more SOC and TN compared with drier and higher elevation locations. Soils on the high, exposed plateau of the island contained low SOC and TN concentrations by comparison. Results suggested that soils of the coastal zone are subject to ongoing aggradation with significant inputs of nutrient, particularly extractable P (Ext P), from oceanic and especially avifauna sources. Nutrient subsidy was concentrated on coastal margins and the more sheltered eastern side of the island, diminishing significantly with increasing elevation and distance from the coast. Soils of the central plateau contained very low Ext P concentrations throughout the profile and appear to be relic if not degrading. Further comprehensive soil mapping, classification and monitoring across Macquarie Island will elucidate the important role that soils serve for healthy ecosystem function in these sub-Antarctic environments and provide early warning indicators of significant environmental change.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Catena, v.177, p. 167-179
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Place of Publication: Netherlands
ISSN: 1872-6887
0341-8162
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 050399 Soil Sciences not elsewhere classified
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 410602 Pedology and pedometrics
410404 Environmental management
410604 Soil chemistry and soil carbon sequestration (excl. carbon sequestration science)
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 961499 Soils not elsewhere classified
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 180699 Terrestrial systems and management not elsewhere classified
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article
School of Environmental and Rural Science

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