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Patterns of variation in Australian alpine soils and their relationships to parent material, vegetation formation, climate and topography
Citation
Kirkpatrick, JB and Green, K and Bridle, KL and Venn, SE, Patterns of variation in Australian alpine soils and their relationships to parent material, vegetation formation, climate and topography, Catena, 121 pp. 186-194. ISSN 0341-8162 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2014 Elsevier
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.catena.2014.05.005
Abstract
We tested the degree to which parent material, climate, vegetation and topography influenced the characteristics
of alpine soils at two scales: across the full range of alpine vegetation in Australia and in the Snowy Mountains of
New South Wales, where geological relationships with soils may be obscured by the aeolian deposition of sediment
and there are strong local gradients in climate. We derived eleven soil groups from numerical analysis of
the national data, three of which were confined to the island State of Tasmania and ten of which clearly fitted
in one of the organosol, dermosol or rudosol soil orders. Linear mixed models indicated that climate, parent material,
topographic position, and vegetation type are all important in influencing alpine soil at a national scale in
Australia. Parent material was prominent in models for most attributes of the soil. Whilst vegetation formation
had only a weak influence on soil characteristics at the national level, in the Snowy Mountains it interacted
strongly with geology. The fact that Snowy Mountains short alpine herbfield soils were affected by geology,
but tall alpine herbfield and heath soils were not, could reflect differences in accumulation of aeolian material.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | soil topography, vegetation, geology, Australia, alpine, climate, soil-forming factors |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Terrestrial ecology |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Other environmental management |
Objective Field: | Other environmental management not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Kirkpatrick, JB (Professor James Kirkpatrick) |
UTAS Author: | Bridle, KL (Dr Kerry Bridle) |
ID Code: | 95490 |
Year Published: | 2014 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 28 |
Deposited By: | Geography and Environmental Studies |
Deposited On: | 2014-10-02 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-03 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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