Biological Activity of Soils and Soil-Like Bodies of the Western Part of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation

A comprehensive study of the biological activity of soils, supra- and periglacial bodies, and their microbiome was conducted to assess the contribution of microorganisms to the ecological functions of soils in the western Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the Spitsbergen archipelago. The work used gas chromatographic methods, luminescent microscopy, extraction of total soil DNA and its quantitative real-time PCR. The biological activity of soils is high only in the surface organogenic horizons and sharply decreases with depth and proximity to large glaciers. Intensive anthropogenic impact reduces all parameters of biological activity. Judging by the large number of microorganism cells and a significant level of functional nitrogen cycle genes, the Arctic soil microbiome has a high adaptive potential to extreme environmental conditions, which allows them to perform their functions even with anthropogenic intervention.