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Glaciers are significant agents of physical and chemical erosion; for example, the mechanical denudation of glaciated valleys in Alaska and Norway is an order of magnitude greater than that in equivalent non-glaciated basins. Knowledge about weathering rates and mineral transformation processes is fundamental in analysing the release of nutrients to ecosystems. Element losses and geochemical properties along a chronosequence in high alpine areas of the Wind River Range will be determined empirically. Samples from moraines in 3 separate regions of the mountains (high alpine above 3000m, montane forest below 3000m, and sagebrush steppe below 2100m) along 3 transects (north, middle, and southern) will be studied. Each locality consists of a catena (crest, backslope, toeslope). Stocks of organic matter will be assessed for all sites. Additionally, we focus on the time-dependent evolution of organic matter quality by applying a chemical and the physical density fractionation technique. The chemical and physical fractionation techniques will insight into the development of stable and labile organic matter and into interactions of organic matter with the mineral phase.

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The dry summers in Mediterranean areas already facilitate the occurrence of bush and forest fires, which exert a significant effect on landscape evolution and especially on soils. There is a poor understanding of how soil quality (including the mineral and organic part) relates to these climate and vegetation factors. This knowledge gap compromises our ability to predict the response of SOC storage and the mineral part of soils to global change. Results from an existing soil climosequence at the slopes of the Etna show that organic matter accumulation is highest at the lowest altitudes where there is a more intense fire activity. It is so far unknown which effect has had the fire frequency on the different fractions and nature of soil organic matter in these soils. The proposed project will focus on the investigation of labile and stable organic matter fractions in the soils. On the one hand, the fractions will be quantified and characterised. On the other hand, these fractions will be dated using the radiocarbon technique (14C). In addition, soil charcoal will be collected and quantified. Fire frequency and landscape evolution will also be evaluated through dendrochonological investigations of living and dead trees on the north slopes of the Etna volcano.

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In the context of the cantonal soil survey, a quantitative estimate of primary and especially clay minerals in acidic forest soils will be undertaken. Of special interest are hydroxy-interlayered vermiculites (HIV) and smectites (HIS). A focus of this work lies on mineral transformation processes, the relation of clay minerals with the exchangeable pool of cations and their significance for soil fertility. Using a chemical mass balance approach and numeric modelling, an estimate of the future soil states shall be drawn.

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The research activities focus on subalpine soils of the Italian Alps to determine the influence of climate on soil humus properties, soil organic matter stability, turnover-times (using 14C), weathering mechanisms and heavy metal chemistry.

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Thawing permafrost will lead to different thermal and hydrological conditions in the soil and regolith. Therefore, climate change should lead to a marked change in weathering conditions in high Alpine areas. Long-term chemical weathering and physical erosion rates are interrelated processes. In order to better understand landscape evolution, it is important to quantify both processes. The planned investigations generally aim at the estimate of element denudation, weathering rates and short- and long-term erosion of high Alpine soils and substrates. Both types of sites will be considered: a) with and b) without permafrost. High Alpine sites in the Engadine will be investigated: the Albula region (2 areas) and the upper Val Bever (6-8 areas). The main objectives include the evaluation of chemical weathering mechanisms, the determination of soil formation and erosion rates (long-term) using the technique of in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be in soil sections, determination of short-term erosion rates using 137Cs as tracer and mapping of present day permafrost distribution (including monitoring of near-surface and ground surface temperatures).

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Investigations of Alpine soils indicate that mineral weathering is much faster in young soils (< 1000 yrs) than in old soils (~10 000 y). However, little is known about the initial stages of weathering and soil formation, i.e. during the first decades of soil genesis. Due to the continuous retreat of the Morteratsch glacier (Upper Engadine, Swiss Alps), the proglacial area (granodiorite, diorite) offers a full time sequence from 0 to 150 yrs old surfaces. A special interest is given to biotite, chlorite, apatite, plagioclase and calcite. In addition, analyses of the stream water from the main channel, tributaries and of rainwater have been performed with a special focus on Ca/Sr and Sr isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr). The high Ca/Sr as well as 87Sr/86Sr ratios confirm that Ca bearing minerals are weathering and transforming at very high rates in the proglacial area. Regarding the clay minerals, special emphasis will be given to the formation of hydroxy-interlayered vermiculite, vermiculite and smectites. Preliminary results suggest that they are formed at very high rates. In addition to this, in detail investigations of Sr-isotopes in the stream water, springs, rock minerals, soils and plants (Epilobium fleischeri and Larix decidua) will furnish precious insight into the weathering mechanisms. Microbiological investigations about the microbial communities extracted from soil, rhizosphere and stream water along the chronosequence allow to monitor the soil microflora and its correlation with chemical and mineralogical soil characteristics. By the use of an existing vegetation monitoring in the proglacial area of Morteratsch, soil map and digital elevation model, the role of topography and vegetation on chemical weathering can be analysed in detail in the proglacial area.