The legacy model vs the subsidy model to explain soil organic matter in the McMurdo Dry Valleys

In each of the landscapes, the soil respiration, terrestrial photosynthesis (moss colonies and cyanobacterial mats on the soil), terrestrial nitrogen fixation, approximate area covered by communities undertaking carbon and nitrogen fixation and the transfer of organic material between aquatic and terrestrial environments was quantified. The results of these measurements will be a carbon and nitrogen budget for terrestrial communities in the valley system.

The parameters and landscape scale resource budgets were tested by comparing the conditions in the Garwood Valley with those in the western Wright Valley, which is characterised by an entirely internal drainage system (the Onyx River flowing into Lake Vanda), a much less productive lake that occupies a much smaller areal proportion of the total valley floor, and a climate more influenced by the extremes of arid katabatic winds.

Studies were in the 04/05 and 05/06 seasons in the Garwood Valley (Lake Colleen and Buddha Lake) and the Wright Valley (Lake Vanda).