Short-term Periglacial Processes, Vegetation Succession, and Soil Development within Sorted Patterned Ground: Jotunheimen, Norway

Abstract

Small (1 ≤ m diameter) sorted patterned ground features were studied on the Little Ice Age forelands of three Jotunheimen glaciers. Patterned ground appears to be most active near the ice margins, declining in intensity of activity with distance from the glaciers. Vegetation and soil development are negligible within patterned ground that is “Recent” (decadal time frame). Significant (P < 0.05) fine scale differences in vegetation and soil development occur within patterned ground on terrain ∼70 yr in age, with patterned ground borders having higher values of vegetation cover and thicker soils than that in patterned ground centers. With increasing age of terrain and patterned ground, soil development and vegetation encroach inward toward patterned ground centers, implying that a short-term, active periglacial zone exists near the ice margin, decaying with time and glacier retreat. Specifically, terrain that has been deglaciated for ∼70 years and is approximately ∼350–500 m from the ice margin shows a significant decline in frost activity, allowing for the initiation of pedogenesis and vegetation colonization.