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- A study revealed that the climate crisis is destroying Antarctic’s fragile ecosystem.
- The number of Antarctica’s two flowering plants has increased rapidly due to the warmer summers.
- Scientists thought Antarctica would be more resistant than other countries to the rapid climate change.
A study has shown that two flowering plants are growing rapidly in Antarctica due to the climate crisis.
These findings are These were published in the peer reviewed journal Current Biology on Monday.These are the first to indicate that not even Antarctica’s fragile environment is immune to the effects of the climate crises.
“Until now most scientists thought Antarctica could exhibit a type of inertia for climate change impacts,” Nicoletta Canone, a study author who is also an associate professor of terrestrial biology at the University of Insubria in Italy, told Insider by email.
“Our analyses have shown that Antarctica is responding rapidly to the increasing temperature trend,” she stated.
Francesco Malfasi
The strict regulation of human activity on the continent limits its potential for future developmentAntarctica is home to the most pristine environment on Earth.
Because it is also the coldest, windiest,And driest environment, very few plants can grow there — and only two, Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis,You can also flower.
The study measured the density of both plants. Signy Island is part of the South Orkney Islands in Antarctica.
It was found Descampia’s Comparing to the period 1960-1909, growth has accelerated tenfold between 2009-2019. Colobanthus grew five times quicker.
Other factors could also influence plant growth. According to the study, fur seals that trample on plants have become less common in the region in recent years. The main reason that the ecosystem has changed so quickly is climate warming, according to the authors.
As plant growth is increasing, but also accelerating, Peter Convey, an author of the British Antarctic Survey study, said that “we think we are starting to see what almost seems like a stepchange or a tipping point”. Submitted to New Scientist
Cannone believes that the flowering plants in Antarctica will eventually outcompete the lichens, mosses and lichens.
The study suggests that the area’s more temperate climate could open up to non-native, invasive species.
