Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 109436 |
| Journal | CATENA |
| Volume | 260 |
| Early online date | 17 Sept 2025 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2025 |
Abstract
Arctic warming increases the thaw depth of permafrost affected soils, altering the local water cycle and accelerating soil-forming processes and decomposition of soil organic matter. The consequences vary greatly across the circumpolar region due to strong heterogeneity in soil-forming factors and soil properties. Despite numerous studies have been carried out in the tundra of West Greenland, detailed descriptions of soil development under contrasting soil-hydrological conditions are lacking, which impairs the accuracy of soil maps and Earth-system models. We address this knowledge gap by analysing soil profiles from three field transects located at slopes of a glacially shaped valley and on a moraine within the same valley, representing typical environmental and geomorphological settings of West Greenland. Dryer soils dominated at the top of the slopes, with solifluction and cryoturbation shaping soil properties, while water logging and accumulation of organic matter characterized the lower end of the slopes. In the vicinity of a braided-river, the terrain was flat but well-drained and soils were shallow but organic-rich, overlying coarse rubble. We show that soil development depends strongly on slope dynamics and hydrological conditions. We also show that soil organic carbon stocks are highly heterogeneous with 4 ± 6 Mg C ha −1 in shallow and poorly developed soils and 451 ± 160 Mg C ha −1 in the upper meter of peat-rich wetlands. The results highlight the great heterogeneity in soil moisture and vegetation types, driving marked differences in soil development and carbon stocks across typical West Greenlandic tundra.
Keywords
- Cryosol, Disko Island, Qeqertarsuaq, Upland tundra, Basalt, Cryosol, Disko Island
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences(all)
- Earth-Surface Processes
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In: CATENA, Vol. 260, 109436, 01.12.2025.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Soil development, mineralogy and organic matter stocks in a West Greenlandic tundra landscape
AU - Peplau, Tino Andreas
AU - Liebmann, Patrick
AU - Fiencke, Claudia
AU - Undeutsch, Selina
AU - Knoblauch, Christian
AU - Dultz, Stefan
AU - Hildebrandt, Amira
AU - Kutzbach, Lars
AU - Elberling, Bo
AU - Schnee, Laura Sophie
AU - Melchert, Jan Olaf
AU - Rethemeyer, Janet
AU - Mikutta, Christian
AU - Guggenberger, Georg
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 The Author(s)
PY - 2025/12/1
Y1 - 2025/12/1
N2 - Arctic warming increases the thaw depth of permafrost affected soils, altering the local water cycle and accelerating soil-forming processes and decomposition of soil organic matter. The consequences vary greatly across the circumpolar region due to strong heterogeneity in soil-forming factors and soil properties. Despite numerous studies have been carried out in the tundra of West Greenland, detailed descriptions of soil development under contrasting soil-hydrological conditions are lacking, which impairs the accuracy of soil maps and Earth-system models. We address this knowledge gap by analysing soil profiles from three field transects located at slopes of a glacially shaped valley and on a moraine within the same valley, representing typical environmental and geomorphological settings of West Greenland. Dryer soils dominated at the top of the slopes, with solifluction and cryoturbation shaping soil properties, while water logging and accumulation of organic matter characterized the lower end of the slopes. In the vicinity of a braided-river, the terrain was flat but well-drained and soils were shallow but organic-rich, overlying coarse rubble. We show that soil development depends strongly on slope dynamics and hydrological conditions. We also show that soil organic carbon stocks are highly heterogeneous with 4 ± 6 Mg C ha −1 in shallow and poorly developed soils and 451 ± 160 Mg C ha −1 in the upper meter of peat-rich wetlands. The results highlight the great heterogeneity in soil moisture and vegetation types, driving marked differences in soil development and carbon stocks across typical West Greenlandic tundra.
AB - Arctic warming increases the thaw depth of permafrost affected soils, altering the local water cycle and accelerating soil-forming processes and decomposition of soil organic matter. The consequences vary greatly across the circumpolar region due to strong heterogeneity in soil-forming factors and soil properties. Despite numerous studies have been carried out in the tundra of West Greenland, detailed descriptions of soil development under contrasting soil-hydrological conditions are lacking, which impairs the accuracy of soil maps and Earth-system models. We address this knowledge gap by analysing soil profiles from three field transects located at slopes of a glacially shaped valley and on a moraine within the same valley, representing typical environmental and geomorphological settings of West Greenland. Dryer soils dominated at the top of the slopes, with solifluction and cryoturbation shaping soil properties, while water logging and accumulation of organic matter characterized the lower end of the slopes. In the vicinity of a braided-river, the terrain was flat but well-drained and soils were shallow but organic-rich, overlying coarse rubble. We show that soil development depends strongly on slope dynamics and hydrological conditions. We also show that soil organic carbon stocks are highly heterogeneous with 4 ± 6 Mg C ha −1 in shallow and poorly developed soils and 451 ± 160 Mg C ha −1 in the upper meter of peat-rich wetlands. The results highlight the great heterogeneity in soil moisture and vegetation types, driving marked differences in soil development and carbon stocks across typical West Greenlandic tundra.
KW - Cryosol
KW - Disko Island
KW - Qeqertarsuaq
KW - Upland tundra
KW - Basalt
KW - Cryosol, Disko Island
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105016193749&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.catena.2025.109436
DO - 10.1016/j.catena.2025.109436
M3 - Article
VL - 260
JO - CATENA
JF - CATENA
SN - 0341-8162
M1 - 109436
ER -