Only two species of vascular plants live in Antarctica so far: the Antarctic butterfly (Deschampsia antarctica) and the Antarctic pearl root (Colobanthus quitensis) from the carnation family. Both have benefited from global warming in recent years – and increasingly so, as a study by Nicoletta Cannone from the Università degli Studi dell'Insubria in Como and her team in "Current Biology" shows: The working group was thus able to prove for the first time that increased plant growth is also taking place in the Antarctic.
Cannone and Co monitor plant growth at various locations on the Antarctic island of Signy between 2009 and 2019 and compared this data with previous recordings from the period between 1960 and 2009. The increase in the two vascular plants accelerated from 2009, although the year 2012 was significantly cooler than the time before. In the ten-year period, the Schmiele spread as strongly as in the five decades earlier, the pearl root even five times as strong.
The stocks had not only spread, but also compacted. In addition, the plants grew faster every year that the average temperatures became higher. The plants had therefore not only spread in the area, but also steadily gained in growth performance. So the changes had accelerated.
Much of the changes are due to climate change. Compared to the rest of the earth, the region has heated up above average; Parts of the Antarctic Peninsula are around three degrees Celsius warmer today than 60 years ago. In addition, back stocks of sea lions and fur seals also play a role: the marine mammals and prevented the growth at their berths, which, however, was limited to low regions near the sea.
Cannone and her team expect similar developments as on Signy for other regions of the Antarctic Peninsula, where mosses, for example, are now spreading. At least in sections, the area is likely to become green, where the gray or black of the rocks still dominates today.
