Soils and Landscapes of Kärkevagge, Swedish Lapland

Kärkevagge, a glacially eroded valley above the Arctic Circle in Sweden, is of particular interest because research findings there in the 1950s challenged the view that chemical weathering is insignificant in cold climates. Because of the wide elevation range, diverse landscapes, steep slopes, and proximity to tree line, soils in the watershed are quite variable and recent changes to Soil Taxonomy have complicated the classification of cold soils. This paper presents an overview of our findings based on 37 pedons. Research site elevations ranged from 505 to 1585 m and slopes from 1 to 78%. Mean annual soil temperatures (MAST), based on a 1‐ to 2‐yr record, ranged from 2.5 to −3.4°C. Although MAST was