The Rate of Peat Accumulation in Antarctic Moss Banks

Fenton, James H.C.

doi:10.2307/2259252

Cited by 81 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The accumulation rate is therefore at least 10 cm 100 yr (calibrated); this falls within the range of mean growth rates of 9-13 cm 100 yr for Antarctic peats for the last 200 years given by Fenton (1980). A radiocarbon date of a thin organic layer at 0.5 m depth below glacial debris from approximately the same locality is given in Birkenmajer et al (1985); the date is 4950 ± 140 BP.…”

Section: Datingsupporting

confidence: 61%

A recent pollen diagram from Antarctica (King George Island, South Shetland Islands)

Knaap

Leeuwen

1993

The Holocene

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A pollen diagram from King George Island, South Shetland Islands, is presented; it is the first from the Antarctic region. A basal radiocarbon date indicates a calibrated age of 300 years or less. Pollen of one or both of the native vascular plants and many long-distance transported types, mainly Nothofagus, are present in all samples. A total of 37 long-distance transported pollen and spore types were encountered in the samples from the section and in an additional modern moss sample collected on Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. Changes in local vegetation are recorded. The possibilities of reconstructing past human activities and past climatic change with the help of pollen diagrams are discussed.

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Section: Datingsupporting

confidence: 61%

A recent pollen diagram from Antarctica (King George Island, South Shetland Islands)

Knaap

Leeuwen

1993

The Holocene

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“…Biological activity, particularly in the early stages, is often low and sometimes absent (e.g., Tedrow and Ugolini 1966), although recent findings suggest this may be a result of methodological limitations (Cowan et al 2002. Accumulating layers of moss material can result in peat banks of up to 2 m depth at a few maritime Antarctic locations (Fenton 1982), and as a consequence of high primary production and low decomposition rates of vascular plants and mosses in lowland systems of the sub-Antarctic islands (e.g., Smith 2008). Where root systems and/or bioturbating soil organisms are present, brown earth formation can occur, largely restricted to certain parts of the subAntarctic islands, and larger stands of the two native flowering plants in the maritime Antarctic.…”

Section: Soilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The spatial structure of Antarctic biodiversity

Convey

Chown

Clarke

et al. 2014

Ecological Monographs

308

296

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Patterns of environmental spatial structure lie at the heart of the most fundamental and familiar patterns of diversity on Earth. Antarctica contains some of the strongest environmental gradients on the planet and therefore provides an ideal study ground to test hypotheses on the relevance of environmental variability for biodiversity. To answer the pivotal question, “How does spatial variation in physical and biological environmental properties across the Antarctic drive biodiversity?” we have synthesized current knowledge on environmental variability across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine Antarctic biomes and related this to the observed biotic patterns. The most important physical driver of Antarctic terrestrial communities is the availability of liquid water, itself driven by solar irradiance intensity. Patterns of biota distribution are further strongly influenced by the historical development of any given location or region, and by geographical barriers. In freshwater ecosystems, free water is also crucial, with further important influences from salinity, nutrient availability, oxygenation, and characteristics of ice cover and extent. In the marine biome there does not appear to be one major driving force, with the exception of the oceanographic boundary of the Polar Front. At smaller spatial scales, ice cover, ice scour, and salinity gradients are clearly important determinants of diversity at habitat and community level. Stochastic and extreme events remain an important driving force in all environments, particularly in the context of local extinction and colonization or recolonization, as well as that of temporal environmental variability. Our synthesis demonstrates that the Antarctic continent and surrounding oceans provide an ideal study ground to develop new biogeographical models, including life history and physiological traits, and to address questions regarding biological responses to environmental variability and change.

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“…In the Antarctic, e.g. at Signy Island, two species of moss, Chorisodontium aciphyllum and Polytrichum strictum, form characteristic peat banks which may be over 2 m deep, may cover more than 2500 m 2 in area and are as much as 5000 years old (Fenton 1980). The moss peat banks consist mainly of the relatively uncompacted remains of the two moss species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outdoor Studies on the Effects of Solar UV-B on bryophytes: Overview and Methodology

et al. 2006

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In this review all recent field studies on the effects of UV-B radiation on bryophytes are discussed. In most of the studies fluorescent UV-B tubes are used to expose the vegetation to enhanced levels of UV-B radiation to simulate stratospheric ozone depletion. Other studies use screens to filter the UV-B part of the solar spectrum, thereby comparing ambient levels of UV-B with reduced UV-B levels, or analyse effects of natural variations in UV-B arising from stratospheric ozone depletion. Nearly all studies show that mosses are well adapted to ambient levels of UV-B radiation since UV-B hardly affects growth parameters. In contrast with outdoor studies on higher plants, soluble UV-B absorbing compounds in bryophytes are typically not induced by enhanced levels of UV-B radiation. A few studies have demonstrated that UV-B radiation can influence plant morphology, photosynthetic capacity, photosynthetic pigments or levels of DNA damage. However, there is only a limited number of outdoor studies presented in the literature. More additional, especially long-term, experiments are needed to provide better data for statistical meta-analyses. A mini UV-B supplementation system is described, especially designed to study effects of UV-B radiation at remote field locations under harsh conditions, and which is therefore suited to perform long-term studies in the Arctic or Antarctic. The first results are presented from a long-term UV-B supplementation experiment at Signy Island in the Maritime Antarctic.

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The Rate of Peat Accumulation in Antarctic Moss Banks

Cited by 81 publications

References 13 publications

A recent pollen diagram from Antarctica (King George Island, South Shetland Islands)

A recent pollen diagram from Antarctica (King George Island, South Shetland Islands)

The spatial structure of Antarctic biodiversity

Outdoor Studies on the Effects of Solar UV-B on bryophytes: Overview and Methodology

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