IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON GENESIS AND EVOLUTION OF SOIL IN THE MARITIME ANTARCTICA
气候变化对南极海洋性气候区土壤发生与演变的影响

Evident climate change is posing significant influences on the terrestrial ecosystems of the maritime Antarctica. As one of key elements of the terrestrial ecosystem, soil is also subjected to environmental changes. Actually, temporal variety of pedogenesis and soil development in a certain landscape is exhibited via the responses of soil forming factors to climate change. First of all, retreat of glaciers and shrink of perennial snowbank induced by climate warming provide parent materials and spatial room for soil formation and development in the maritime Antarctica. Meanwhile, melt water originating from glaciers and snow ice covers enhances temporal and spatial availability of free water, which plays all important roles both in periglacial processes and the processes within soil profiles, thus influencing soil genesis and evolution to a great degree. Climate change leads to luxuriance of lower plants, especially macroscopic plants such as lichens, mosses and algae in the maritime Antarctica, resulting in introduction of species, colonization in new habitats, increase of biomass and modification of community structures, therefore posing influences on accumulative intensity and compositions of organic matter in soils. Sea level shift and curst isostatic uplift driven mainly by climate change cause migration of the maritime vertebrates such as seals and penguins in the various spatial scales, not only leading to input change of maritime organic matter to terrestrial ecosystem and soil environment, but disturbing soil forming processes and reshaping distribution patterns of soils in the coastal areas. For a better understanding of the intensity, degree and rate of pedogenesis variation induced directly and indirectly by climate change, the detailed case studies including some long term monitoring programs in a chosen area should be conducted, focusing on the dynamics changes and feedback mechanisms of the soil forming factors under the background of climate change, and on the interactions between the changing soil forming factors and individual soil process.