Estimating microbial mat biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica using satellite imagery and ground surveys
- PDF / 1,332,457 Bytes
- 15 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 80 Downloads / 183 Views
ORIGINAL PAPER
Estimating microbial mat biomass in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica using satellite imagery and ground surveys Sarah N. Power1 · Mark R. Salvatore2 · Eric R. Sokol3 · Lee F. Stanish3 · J. E. Barrett1 Received: 22 October 2019 / Revised: 23 August 2020 / Accepted: 27 August 2020 / Published online: 18 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Cyanobacterial mat communities are the main drivers of primary productivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. These microbial communities form laminar mats on desert pavement surfaces adjacent to glacial meltwater streams, ponds, and lakes. The low-density nature of these communities and their patchy distribution make assessments of distribution, biomass, and productivity challenging. We used satellite imagery coupled with in situ surveying, imaging, and sampling to systematically estimate microbial mat biomass in selected wetland regions in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. On January 19th, 2018, the WorldView-2 multispectral satellite acquired an image of our study areas, where we surveyed and sampled seven 100 m 2 plots of microbial mats for percent ground cover, ash-free dry mass (AFDM), and pigment content (chlorophyll-a, carotenoids, and scytonemin). Multispectral analyses revealed spectral signatures consistent with photosynthetic activity (relatively strong reflection at near-infrared wavelengths and relatively strong absorption at visible wavelengths), with average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) values of 0.09 to 0.28. Strong correlations of microbial mat ground cover (R2 = 0.84), biomass (R2 = 0.74), chlorophyll-a content (R2 = 0.65), and scytonemin content (R2 = 0.98) with logit transformed NDVI values demonstrate that satellite imagery can detect both the presence of microbial mats and their key biological properties. Using the NDVI—biomass correlation we developed, we estimate carbon (C) stocks of 21,715 kg (14.7 g C m−2) in the Canada Glacier Antarctic Specially Protected Area, with an upper and lower limit of 74,871 and 6312 kg of C, respectively. Keywords Antarctica · Microbial mat · Multispectral imagery · NDVI · Nostocales · Remote sensing
Introduction Autotrophic microbial communities are essential drivers of primary production in extreme ecosystems, such as hot and cold deserts (Elbert et al. 2012), where species of cyanobacteria, chlorophytes, lichens and mosses form laminar mats or “crusts” with thicknesses ranging from millimeters to several centimeters (Prieto-Barajas et al. 2018). These biological * Sarah N. Power [email protected] 1
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2125 Derring Hall, Mail Code 0406, 926 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
2
Department of Astronomy & Planetary Science, Northern Arizona University, NAU Box 6010, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA
3
National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle Memorial Institute, 1685 38th Street, Suite 100, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
soil crusts perf
Data Loading...
