We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The Longest Baseline Record of Vegetation Dynamics in Antarctica Reveals Acute Sensitivity to Water Availability.
- Authors
Colesie, Claudia; Pan, Yueming; Cary, S. Craig; Gemal, Emma; Brabyn, Lars; Kim, Jeong‐Hoon; Green, T. G. Allan; Lee, Charles K.
- Abstract
Against a changing climate, the development of evidence‐based and progressive conservation policies depends on robust and quantitative baseline studies to resolve habitat natural variability and rate of change. Despite Antarctica's significant role in global climate regulation, climate trend estimates for continental Antarctica are ambiguous due to sparse long‐term in situ records. Here, we present the longest, spatially explicit survey of Antarctic vegetation by harmonizing historic vegetation mapping with modern remote sensing techniques. In 1961, E. D. Rudolph established a permanent survey plot at Cape Hallett, one of the most botanically diverse areas along the Ross Sea coastline, harboring all known types of non‐vascular Antarctic vegetation. Following a survey in 2004 using ground‐based photography, we conducted the third survey of Rudolph's Plot in 2018 using near‐ground remote sensing and methodologies closely mirroring the two historic surveys to identify long‐term changes and trends. Our results revealed that the vegetation at Cape Hallett remained stable over the past six decades with no evidence of transformation related to a changing climate. Instead, the local vegetation shows strong seasonal phenology, distribution patterns that are driven by water availability, and steady perennial growth of moss. Given that East Antarctica is at the tipping point of drastic change in the near future, with biological change having been reported at certain locations, this record represents a unique and potentially the last opportunity to establish a meaningful biological sentinel that will allow us to track subtle yet impactful environmental change in terrestrial Antarctica in the 21st century. Plain Language Summary: In early 2022, record‐breaking high temperatures were recorded all over Antarctica, sparking concerns about the icy continent's future. Although the effects of climate change have been observed in West Antarctica, much less observation is available for East Antarctica, where almost 90% of the Antarctic ice mass is located. It is now, that East Antarctica is at a tipping point for change, and it is now, that we need to establish progressive conservation measures. What is at stake? The vegetation in East Antarctica is distinct. Any organism that managed to survive here has highly specialized traits, and we only find lichens, mosses, cyanobacteria, and green algae. Especially the mosses are used biological sentinels because they live long and with high specificity. However, because they grow so slowly, any attempt to monitor variation in their fitness has to span decades rather than years or even seasons. This constitutes a key problem when trying to understand the natural dynamics of a functional ecosystem in East Antarctica. By applying machine learning and advanced statistics to modern aerial survey data as well as historic vegetation maps (the oldest in Antarctica, from 56 years ago), we created a unique harmonized data set and gained unique ecological insight. This allows us to establish a biological sentinel for change in East Antarctica, just before it is too late. Key Points: The longest plant cover record in Antarctica revealed Cape Hallett, unlike sites around the Peninsula, unaffected by climate changeAntarctic vegetation shows high plasticity, for which most of the changes can be explained by seasonal variation and water availabilityBy harmonizing historic and modern monitoring methodologies we establish a sustainable biological sentinel for change in East Antarctica
- Subjects
ANTARCTICA; VEGETATION dynamics; WATER supply; HISTORICAL maps; VEGETATION mapping; ECOLOGICAL disturbances; SUBGLACIAL lakes
- Publication
Earth's Future, 2022, Vol 10, Issue 8, p1
- ISSN
2328-4277
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2022EF002823