Thursday, 30 August 2007 - 10:50 AM
4.A.C-3

Organic C stocks in cryosols from Admiralty Bay, Maritime Antarctica

Felipe Nogueira Bello Simas1, Carlos Ernesto G. R. Schaefer2, Eduardo de Sá Mendonça2, Ivo Ribeiro Silva2, and Rogério Mercandelle Santana2. (1) Centro Universitário de Caratinga, BR-116, KM-526, Caratinga, Brazil, (2) Departamento de Solos, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Av. PH Rolfs s/n, Viçosa, Brazil

Abstract -   Recent studies show that organic matter accumulation in soils from coastal Antarctica is higher than previously expected. The objective of the present work was to estimate the organic C stocks for soils from Maritime Antarctica. Cryosols from subpolar desert landscapes presented the lowest organic C stocks. Cryptogamic plant communities increase soil C stocks, although these are lower than that reported for most soils from polar areas. Ornithogenic soils are the most important C reservoirs in terrestrial ecosystems in this part of Antarctica. Although these soils correspond to only 2.5 % of the ice-free areas at Admiralty Bay, they contain approximately 20 % of the estimated C stock. Most of the organic C in the studied soils is stored in the active layer but in some cases the C is also stored in the permafrost

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