The deserts of the Arctic are vast territories covered by glaciers and snow, on which extremely sparse vegetation grows. This area is of great interest in the educational and scientific terms. In the article, the reader will get acquainted with the types and properties of soils of the Arctic desert.
Characteristic of the natural area
The Arctic desert is widespread in Greenland and the Canadian Arctic archipelago, and occupies most of them. The distribution range of cold deserts is not limited to this. They dominate the Arctic Ocean, on the islands, stretch along the coast of Eurasia and Antarctica. The most northern outskirts of Asia and America are occupied by Arctic deserts; they are common on the islands of the Arctic basin.
The climate is cold, the winters are harsh and long. Summer is short and cold. The seasonal division of conditionally - winters are associated with polar nights, and the summer period - days. The zone of Arctic deserts is the kingdom of eternal glaciers and snows. During the summer, tiny areas of land manage to free themselves from snow cover. If you ask: “What are the soils in the Arctic deserts?”, The answer is simple - they are undeveloped and can be either swampy or rocky. Only mosses with lichens can grow on them. Plants with flowers are extremely rare.
Soil types of the Arctic desert
Natural zones from the pole to the equator succeed each other, respectively, soil types also differ. This article discusses the Arctic desert, the soil of which was formed in harsh climatic conditions with very low temperatures in winter.
The Arctic desert does not have favorable climatic conditions. Soil types, respectively, are not diverse. The main soil type in this zone is the Arctic. They are divided into subtypes: desert-arctic and typical arctic. How powerful the soil profile will be depends on the depth of thawing in a given season. Soil horizons are poorly divided. If the conditions for soil formation were more favorable, the vegetative peaty horizon is well expressed, although humus is much worse.
Desert Arctic Soils
They occupy the northern part of the Arctic zone, with flattened areas formed by sandy and gravelly deposits. The Arctic desert, whose soil is not rich in useful substances, has sparse vegetation. Moss, lichens and single flowering plants grow on these soils. Large areas are covered with mounds of stone. The desert surface is divided into polygons by large cracks, approximately twenty meters wide. The soil profile is thin (up to 40 centimeters), has the following horizons:
- Humus layer . It has a yellowish-brown color. The humus content is one to two percent, light loamy, its structure is fragile granular.
- Transition layer . Power is twenty to forty centimeters. The color of the horizon is brown, yellow-brown or spotty. Sandy, fragile, finely lumpy. It is a transition along the thawing boundary.
- The last horizon is the frozen rock that forms the soil; it is a sandy, gravelly, dense layer, usually light brown in color.
Throughout the territory of the zone there are many lowered, flooded areas. This is due to the flowing meltwater of glaciers and snowfields. Therefore, beneath the mosses you can find swamp soils. Here the horizons are very slightly different. There is no gleying.
Typical Arctic Soils
Not only lowered areas, but also high plateaus represented the Arctic desert. Soil types here are not very diverse. Desert soils of the Arctic zone are adjacent to typical. The place of their formation is high plateaus, watershed hills, sea terraces. Typical soils are located mainly in the south of the zone under the cover of moss vegetation. Frost cracks and drying cracks abound here. Soils have a low profile: 40-50 centimeters, and have the following horizons:
- Moss-lichen layer up to three centimeters thick.
- The humus layer is brownish brown, loamy. The structure is fragile, granular-lumpy. It is characterized by porosity, the presence of cracks, a noticeable uneven transition to the next layer.
- The transition horizon is dense with cracks, loamy, the structure is heterogeneous, with lumps of different sizes, usually brown.
- The last layer is soil-forming, frozen rock, light brown in color. Debris is often found.
Composition of typical soils
The amount of humus in the upper horizon of these soils is much larger, about eight percent. But its quantity decreases with depth. Studying the soil properties of Arctic deserts, it can be said that fulvic acids are the dominant component of humus. In the vast majority, fulvates, calcium humates are present here. Silt particles are contained in a small amount. Typical soils include mobile iron.
What is characterized by soil in the arctic desert?
Depending on the rocks that form the soil, the reaction of the medium is slightly acidic or slightly alkaline. Sometimes the soil contains carbonate and water soluble salts. The harsh, unfriendly climate is distinguished by the Arctic desert. The soil characterized by the lack of gleying associated with insufficient precipitation, permafrost processes: cracking, freezing, and debate. Due to the dominant effect of physical weathering, the formation of a weathering crust occurs, which is a roughly detrital, slightly leached structure. All this contributes to the formation of cracked polygons and stone hills.
The formation of soil cover occurs only under vegetation, which grows selectively. It depends on the conditions of the relief, moisture, nature of the rocks. A little-studied natural zone is the Arctic desert. Soil is of more interest to scientists. After all, it is on it that the vegetation that animals feed on exists. These soils are characterized by a peculiar polygonality: they are vertically broken by cracks formed by severe frosts.
Arctic deserts of Russia
This natural zone is located in the northernmost part of our country. Moreover, in the highest latitude of the Arctic. It borders on the Wrangel Islands in the south, and Franz Joseph Land on the north . It includes islands, peninsulas and the Arctic seas.
This zone is characterized by a very harsh climate, influenced by high geographical latitude, low temperatures and heat reflected from snow and ice. Summer is cold and short. Winter is long, with strong winds, snowstorm and fogs. Glaciers cover more than eighty-five percent of the territory.
The soils of the Arctic deserts in Russia are undeveloped. A significant part of the surface is occupied by placers of stones and eternal glaciers. The most common soil type is arcto-tundra soil. The soil profile is not very powerful and depends on the thawing of the soil. The upper horizon consists of peat.
Arctic and Antarctic
These zones occupy vast territories. The Arctic is in the northern polar zone, and Antarctica (mainland Antarctica) is in the southern. They have much in common: severe frosts, eternal glaciers, alternating polar days and nights. But there are differences. The most important thing is that the center of the Arctic is in the ocean, and Antarctica is on the mainland. They have a distinctive feature: eternal glaciers and snow lying almost all year round - these are the Arctic and Antarctic deserts.
The soils of these zones are thin, the humus layer is poor in humus. In the soil of the Antarctic, although in very small quantities, organic matter still arrives. They are brought by birds and seals that feed on marine organisms. Sparse vegetation is represented by lichens, mosses, algae and rare flowering plants.
The soil surface of the Arctic deserts is characterized by the fact that salt accumulation occurs in it. Fading often appears on the surface. In summer, salt migration occurs; therefore, the formation of small brackish lakes is not uncommon here.