Chapter 2 Bacterial Community Structures of Antarctic Soils Eric M. Bottos, Joshua W. Scarrow, Stephen D. J. Archer, Ian R. McDonald and S. Craig Cary Abstract Antarctica’s ice-free environments span diverse habitats, ranging from well developed and nutrient rich soils in the coastal areas, to poorly developed and oligotrophic soils in the continent’s deserts and high elevation sites. Though most terrestrial environments in Antarctica are typified by harsh environmental condi- tions, many soils are home to abundant and diverse bacterial communities. These communities are locally adapted, varying both between and within different regions of the continent, and typically reflecting the local physicochemical and biological characteristics of the soils. Environmental conditions are changing rapidly in many areas, due to increased human activity on the continent and the impacts of climate change. This chapter reviews characteristics of bacterial communities in soils across Antarctica in relation to their environment, and dis- cusses the potential responses of bacterial communities to contemporary envi- ronmental change. Continued and coordinated efforts to understand bacterial community structure and function in Antarctic soils will be necessary to monitor and predict ecological responses in these changing environments, and to shape management practices that will ensure the protection and preservation of biodi- versity in Antarctica’s terrestrial ecosystems. 2.1 Introduction While the majority of continental Antarctica is permanently covered by the Ant- arctic Ice Sheet, approximately 0.35 % of the continent remains free from ice and snow cover for part or all of the year (Hopkins et al. 2006b). These ice-free areas are largely confined to the perimeter of the continent at coastal sites and regions cut off E. M. Bottos Á J. W. Scarrow Á S. D. J. Archer Á I. R. McDonald Á S. C. Cary (&) The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand e-mail: caryc@waikato.ac.nz D. A. Cowan (ed.), Antarctic Terrestrial Microbiology, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-45213-0_2, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014 9