Research in Antarctica in the past two decades has fundamentally changed our perceptions of the southern continent. This volume describes typical terrestrial environments of the maritime and continental Antarctic. Life and chemical processes are restricted to small ranges of ambient temperature, availability of water and nutrients. This is reflected not only in life processes, but also in those of weathering and pedogenesis. The volume focuses on interactions between plants, animals and soils. It includes aspects of climate change, soil development and biology, as well as above- and below-ground results of interdisciplinary research projects combining data from botany, zoology, microbiology, pedology, and soil ecology.

I The Environment

Preface
Antarctic Coastal Landscapes: Characteristics, Ecology and Research
Maritime and Continental Antarctic: The Sites of Investigation in Context 17
King George Island - South Shetland Islands, Maritime Antarctic
Wilkes Land (Casey Station)
Dronning Maud Land and Its Environments
II Soils, Soil Development and Soil Properties
Preface
Glacial Changes in the Areas of Admiralty Bay, Potter Cove, King George Island, Maritime Antarctica
Soils and Soilscapes
Weathering and Soil Formation
Refractory Soil Organic Matter - Formation, Accumulation, Translocation and Transformation
Ornithogenic Ecosystems in the Maritime Antarctic Formation, Development and Disintegration
III Soil Microbes, Plants and Soil Fauna
Preface
Heterotrophic Soil Microbes, Microbial and Enzymatic Activity in Antarctic Soils
Plant Communities on King George Island
Plant Communities at Wilkes Land
Plant Communities at Dronning Maud Land
Soil Fauna of Antarctic Coastal Landscapes
IV Integrating Aspects for Soil Ecology in Antarctic Coastal Landscapes
Preface
Soils as Habitats for microorganisms
Ecological Classification of Terrestrial Algal Communities in Polar Environments
Plants and Lichens in the Antarctic, Their Way of Life and Their Relevance to Soil Formation
Soil Ecology in Relation to Plant Patterns
Uses, Preservation and Protection of Antarctic Coastal Regions
Concluding Remarks
Taxonomic Index
Geographical Index.