Climatic and environmental constraints on aboveground-belowground linkages on the Antarctic Peninsula

The Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing rapid environmental changes, making it susceptible to alterations in species diversity and distribution, both above- and belowground. In this project, we collected soil samples at 14 sites over a latitudinal gradient along the Antarctic Peninsula to determine the nature and strength of aboveground-belowground linkages in influencing soil community biogeography and diversity over a gradient of environmental and climatic conditions. Soil microbial (bacteria, fungi) and invertebrate communities and a comprehensive suite of edaphic variables were sampled at all sites in soils underneath key aboveground habitat types (grass, moss, lichen, algae, and fellfield) to fully characterize diversity and the soil environment.