Plant ecology in Antarctica

Abstract

Sancho, L.G., Pintado, A. (2011). Plant ecology in Antarctica. Ecosistemas 20(1):42-53

Plant life in Antarctica has often been described as extremely poor and ecologically simple. However, this is really only true when we are referring to the most inhospitable localities of the continental Antarctica. In the region known as maritime Antarctica, which includes the westcoast of the Antarctic Peninsula and adjacent islands, the situation is very different. The number of lichen species is above 350 and more than 100 species of mosses and hepatics have been described although only two flowering plants are present. One of the main questions that has always interested plant ecologists is whether Antarctic lichens and mosses possess some type of adaptation mechanism that allows them to survive better than other plants under such extreme conditions. A second area of interest at present is to determine the capacity of Antarctic plants to adapt to climate change, for example, to increasing UV radiation as a consequence of the ozone hole and to global warming. Both mosses and lichens have proven to be very resistant to UV radiation and appear able to adapt rapidly to this stress. Antarctic lichens are also very tolerant of long periods of cold and drought and can carry out active photosynthesis at temperatures below the freezing-point, which contrasts with some of the studied species being unable to reach positive carbon gain if the temperature rises only two or three degrees. The lichens and microbial communities of the Dry Valleys and Transantarctic Mountains do not seem to be limited by the most extreme combination of cold, dryness and radiation on our planet. These species are excellent candidates for astrobiology experiments in outer space in order to demonstrate the capacity of survival of complex cells, originating on the Earth, for possible interplanetary transfer.