Climatic and environmental constraints on aboveground-belowground linkages and diversity across a latitudinal gradient in Antarctica

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, archaea, 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. From multiple sites over a latitudinal gradient along the Antarctic Peninsula, we collected up to 20 soil and vegetation samples from each of the available aboveground cover types (including moss, grass, fellfield, lichen, and algae). On the samples, we measured: Soil chemical parameters, including: gravimetric soil water content, inorganic extractable nitrogen (KCl extracts measured on a Lachat autoanalyzer), extractable phosphate (NaHCO3 extracts measured on a TrAAcs), total and organic carbon and nitrogen (measured on an elemental analyzer), pH (1:2 soil solution using pH meter), and electrical conductivity (1:5 soil solution using EC meter) Soil and vegetation biotic community, including: nematode diversity and abundance (species level), tardigrade and rotifer abundance, microarthropod diversity and abundance (species level), microbial biomass (chloroform fumigation extraction measured on a Shimadzu TOC analyzer), bacterial and archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences, fungal ITS1 sequences, metagenomic sequences