1. Ungulate trampling modifies soils and interlinked ecosystem functions across biomes. Until today, most research has focused on temperate ecosystems and mineral soils while trampling effects on cold and organic matter‐rich tundra soils remain largely unknown.
2. We aimed to develop a general model of trampling effects on soil structure, biota, microclimate and biogeochemical processes, with a particular focus on polar tundra soils. To reach this goal, we reviewed literature about the effects of trampling and physical disturbances on soils across biomes and used this to discuss the knowns and unknowns of trampling effects on tundra soils.
3. We identified the following four pathways through which trampling affects soils: (a) soil compaction; (b) reductions in soil fauna and fungi; (c) rapid losses in vegetation biomass and cover; and (d) longer term shifts in vegetation community composition.
4. We found that, in polar tundra, soil responses to trampling pathways 1 and 3 could be characterized by nonlinear dynamics and tundra‐specific context dependencies that we formulated into testable hypotheses.
5. In conclusion, trampling may affect tundra soil significantly but many direct, interacting and cascading responses remain unknown. We call for research to advance the understanding of trampling effects on soils to support informed efforts to manage and predict the functioning of tundra systems under global changes.

中文翻译：

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默默踩踏：概念化极地冻原对土壤的践踏效应

1. 松散的践踏会改变土壤并在整个生物群落中相互联系的生态系统功能。直到今天，大多数研究都集中在温带的生态系统和矿质土壤上，而对冷和富含有机物质的冻原土壤的践踏作用仍然鲜为人知。
2. 我们旨在建立一个践踏对土壤结构，生物区系，微气候和生物地球化学过程的影响的通用模型，尤其是针对极地苔原土壤。为了实现这一目标，我们回顾了有关践踏和物理干扰对整个生物群落土壤的影响的文献，并以此讨论了对苔原土壤践踏影响的已知和未知情况。
3. 我们确定了践踏影响土壤的以下四个途径：（a）土壤压实；（b）减少土壤动植物和真菌；（c）植被生物量和植被的迅速损失；（d）植被群落组成的长期变化。
4. 我们发现，在极地苔原中，土壤对践踏路径1和3的响应可以通过非线性动力学和特定于苔原的上下文相关性来表征，我们将其表述为可检验的假设。
5. 总之，践踏可能会严重影响冻原土壤，但许多直接，相互作用和连锁反应仍然未知。我们呼吁开展研究，以加深对践踏土壤的影响的认识，以支持在全球变化下管理和预测冻原带系统功能的知情努力。