Physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils from the upper Garwood Valley, Ross Sea Region, 2002-2006.

Replicate randomly-located samples of surface soils to 10 cm depth have been gathered from the most common landforms in the area. Within the most widespread landforms, the same type of samples have been gathered along transects of increasing distance from Lake Colleen in the valley's centre.

A third subset relates to soils on an experimental site at which the biotic response to additional of local biotic detritus (algal mat and lakeshore foams). For each soil sample, field and later lab-based measurements include: bulk density, texture, repeated measurements of moisture content and temperature at depths of 1 cm and 5 cm, organic carbon (after acidification to remove carbonates) and total nitrogen by Carlo Erba elemental analyzer, ammonium and nitrate (in KCl extraction) by TRAACS auto-analyzer, chlorophyll concentration, field CO2 flux at ambient temperature at the soil surface by LiCor 6400, lab CO2 flux at controlled (and varied) temperature and moisture by LiCor 6400, and lab CO2 fluxes after addition of carbon and nitrogen at controlled temperature and moisture by LiCor 6400.