Articles | Volume 23, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2761-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2761-2026
Research article
 | 
22 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 22 Apr 2026

Spatial heterogeneity of soil organic matter and microbial community composition across ice-wedge polygons and soil layers in Arctic lowland tundra

Victoria Martin, Cornelia Rottensteiner, Hannes Schmidt, Moritz Mohrlok, Julia Horak, Carolina Urbina-Malo, Julia Wagner, Willeke A'Campo, Luca Durstewitz, Niek Jesse Speetjens, Rachele Lodi, Bela Hausmann, Michael Fritz, Gustaf Hugelius, and Andreas Richter

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Cited articles

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Abolt, C. J., Young, M. H., Atchley, A. L., Harp, D. R., and Coon, E. T.: Feedbacks Between Surface Deformation and Permafrost Degradation in Ice Wedge Polygons, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 125, e2019JF005349, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JF005349, 2020. 
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Short summary
We asked how organic matter pools and microbial communities vary across polygon types and soil layers in Arctic lowland tundra. Low-center polygons had lower microbial abundance, enzyme potential, and organic matter bioavailability. Organic topsoils were microbial hotspots, but thaw may also rapidly mobilize carbon from upper permafrost. Patterns consistently followed gradients in organic matter and redox conditions, offering a practical framework for scaling landscape-scale soil carbon changes.
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