A. Context Little is known about the diversity and geographic distribution of biota in Antarctica. This is in part underlain by the lack of systematic sampling and geographical coverage, and the problems associated with species definition, cryptic diversity and cultivability. Particularly the Dronning Maud Land region is understudied in terms of its biodiversity. As a result, we largely lack the ‘baseline’ data needed to understand the contribution of various processes that are responsible for the geographical patterns present in the diversity and composition of microbiota, lichens, mosses and microinvertebrates and to observe possible future changes in their diversity and taxonomic composition due to ecosystem change and/or human introductions. B. Objectives BELDIVA is aimed at (i) obtaining a first integrated biological description of the pristine habitats in an area of 50 km around the Belgian Princess Elisabeth research station (Sør Rondane Mountains) using state-of-the art sequencing techniques and (ii) studying their response and adaptations to change and the factors that control their spatial distribution. BELDIVA has the following scientific objectives: 1. Study the importance of airborne propagules in shaping the diversity of terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the Sør Rondane Mountains; 2. Install Open-Top Chambers to mimic future climate warming and its effect on the microbial communities; 3. Study adaptations under the extreme Antarctic conditions by conducting in situ experiments (i.e., photosynthetic efficiency). 4. Study the deglaciation history of the region, which will put the biodiversity data into a temporal framework. 5. Study the biodiversity of microorganisms (both prokaryotes and eukaryotes), microinvertebrates, lichens and mosses in various habitats in the region with a particular focus on soils; 6. Verify the distribution in representative samples of particular bacterial and cyanobacterial taxa and to integrate our findings with results obtained within other projects C. Conclusions  ...