Soil temperature and local initial conditions drive carbon and nitrogen build-up in young proglacial soils in the Tropical Andes and European Alps

Abstract

Climate warming has accelerated the retreat of mountain glaciers worldwide, exposing new areas to weathering, vegetation colonization, and soil formation. In light of probable climate changes such as warming and new extremes, understanding the factors that control soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen build-up is crucial to comprehend proglacial soils and ecosystem formation. To this end, we examine the evolution of SOC, nitrogen (total N and NH4+), and phosphorus (available P) along nine 120-year chronosequences of deglacierization distributed between the European Alps and Tropical Andes. Our dataset includes geochemical analyses of 188 soil samples, in situ soil temperature data for the period 2019–2022, and hydrographic variables. Although time controls proglacial soil development at all sites, our study highlights distinct pedogenesis dynamics between proglacial landscapes depending on the micro and macro environmental context. Differences in soil development were strongly driven by growing degree days (GDD), maximum soil temperature, and parent material. Notably, we identified a positive effect of GDD on SOC and N (total N and NH4+), while our results indicate a negative effect of maximum soil temperature on SOC and NH4+, suggesting that overly high temperatures reduce microbial mineralization and organic matter input to the soil matrix. We reported the presence of higher initial SOC, total N, and NH4+ in the Andean sites than in the Alps sites, suggesting enhanced soil development at the Andean locations. This comparative study suggests the relative importance of maximum temperature and initial site conditions (e.g., parent materials, glacier biomes) during proglacial pedogenesis. Our findings highlight that soil temperature modulates pedogenesis in a complex way and suggest avoiding simply associating greater soil development with higher soil temperature in proglacial landscapes.