{"id":102475,"date":"2024-10-12T02:46:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-12T00:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/?p=102475"},"modified":"2024-10-11T18:47:28","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:47:28","slug":"antarctic-greening-at-dramatic-rate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/en\/science\/antarctic-greening-at-dramatic-rate\/","title":{"rendered":"Antarctic \u2018greening\u2019 at dramatic rate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than tenfold over the last four decades, new research shows<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Antarctic Peninsula, like many polar regions, is warming faster than the global average, with extreme heat events in Antarctica becoming more common<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new study \u2013 by the universities of Exeter and Hertfordshire, and the British Antarctic Survey \u2013 used satellite data to assess how much the Antarctic Peninsula has been \u201cgreening\u201d in response to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It found that the area of vegetation cover across the Peninsula increased from less than one square kilometre in 1986 to almost 12 square kilometres by 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published in the journal Nature Geoscience<\/em>, the study also found this greening trend accelerated by over 30% in recent years (2016-2021) relative to the full study period (1986-2021) \u2013 expanding by over 400,000 square metres per year in this period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In <\/a>a previous study<\/a>, which examined core samples taken from moss-dominated ecosystems on the Antarctic Peninsula, the team found evidence that rates of plant growth had increased dramatically in recent decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new study uses satellite imagery to confirm that a widespread greening trend, across the Antarctic Peninsula, is under way and accelerating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe plants we find on the Antarctic Peninsula \u2013 mostly mosses \u2013 grow in perhaps the harshest conditions on Earth,\u201d said Dr Thomas Roland<\/a>, from the University of Exeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a tiny fraction colonised by plant life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that tiny fraction has grown dramatically \u2013 showing that even this vast and isolated \u2018wilderness\u2019 is being affected by anthropogenic climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Norsel Point. Credit Dan Charman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dr Olly Bartlett<\/a>, from the University of Hertfordshire, added: \u201cAs these ecosystems become more established \u2013 and the climate continues to warm \u2013 it\u2019s likely that the extent of greening will increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSoil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent, but this increase in plant life will add organic matter, and facilitate soil formation \u2013 potentially paving the way for other plants to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis raises the risk of non-native and invasive species arriving, possibly carried by eco-tourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers emphasise the urgent need for further research to establish the specific climate and environmental mechanisms that are driving the \u201cgreening\u201d trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe sensitivity of the Antarctic Peninsula\u2019s vegetation to climate change is now clear and, under future anthropogenic warming, we could see fundamental changes to the biology and landscape of this iconic and vulnerable region,\u201d said Dr Roland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: \u201cOur findings raise serious concerns about the environmental future of the Antarctic Peninsula, and of the continent as a whole. In order to protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and identify precisely what is causing them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers are now investigating how recently deglaciated (ice-free) landscapes are colonised by plants, and how the process might proceed into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper is entitled: \u201cSatellites evidence sustained greening of the Antarctic Peninsula.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

Source<\/h5>\r\n\n\n\n

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