Cold desert soil formation in Heritage Range, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica

The Ellsworth Mountains represent a significant gap in pedological studies in Antarctica, particularly concerning soil formation at the local level. This study focused on 22 soil profiles from the southern portion of the Ellsworth Mountains, developed on various parent materials and different landscape positions. The soils were characterized morphologically, physically, chemically, and mineralogically according to international analytical methods. Like other cold desert soils in Antarctica, the Ellsworth soils are, in general, skeletal-psammitic, shallow, and weakly structured. All soils accumulate salts, although the concentration depends on local drainage conditions and surface exposure time. These soils exhibit desert pavement and discrete, yet typical, features of cryoturbation. Vegetation colonization is highly dependent on greater water availability, lower salinity, and the presence of stone garlands on the soil surface, which help protect the lichens from strong aeolian erosion. The mineralogy of Ellsworth soils demonstrates a strong genetic relationship with the parent materials, showing only slight variation among them, as the extremely cold and arid climate severely limits chemical weathering and pedogenesis. Pedogenesis in the Ellsworth Mountains is highly influenced by climate and recent changes to the local surfaces.