Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- 11 Effects of Climate Change on Tundra Bryophytes
- 12 Alpine Bryophytes as Indicators for Climate Change: a Case Study from the Austrian Alps
- 13 Bryophytes and Lichens in a Changing Climate: An Antarctic Perspective
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
13 - Bryophytes and Lichens in a Changing Climate: An Antarctic Perspective
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- 11 Effects of Climate Change on Tundra Bryophytes
- 12 Alpine Bryophytes as Indicators for Climate Change: a Case Study from the Austrian Alps
- 13 Bryophytes and Lichens in a Changing Climate: An Antarctic Perspective
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
The Antarctic continent occupies about 14.4 million square kilometers, about 99% of which is covered by ice with an average thickness of around 1.8 km. It is the coldest, driest, windiest continent and has the highest mean elevation of all continents. Precipitation, as low as 20 mm on the inland ice plateau and significantly higher in coastal regions (as much as 250 mm annual rainfall equivalent), falls mostly as snow but occasionally as rain, particularly in the climatically milder maritime part of the northern Antarctic Peninsula.
The terrestrial and limnetic plant biota of Antarctica is impoverished and limited to lichens, bryophytes, mostly microscopic algae, cyanobacteria, mostly microscopic fungi, and two small vascular plants found only in the Maritime Antarctic. Invertebrates dominate the terrestrial and limnetic fauna, although large numbers of seabirds breed onshore over the summer months. Despite the severe climate and limited habitat availability, terrestrial plant life flourishes in ice-free areas where moisture is available. The continent of Antarctica with its nearby offshore islands is unique in being the only major land mass with a flora composed almost entirely of cryptogams (Longton 1979; Kappen 1993a; Broady 1996; Green et al. 1999; Vincent 2000; Øvstedal & Lewis Smith 2001; Ochyra et al. 2008).
The strong negative trend of the global thermal budget from the equator towards the poles is regionally altered by the presence of land masses and by general oceanic circulation.
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- Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change , pp. 251 - 274Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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