GIS goes nano: Vegetation studies in Victoria Land, Antarctica

Abstract: Vegetation in Antarctica consists mainly of algae, moss and lichen and is interesting to research because of the isolation and extreme growing conditions. An understanding of this vegetation is important for both the management of tourism in Antarctica, and because it provides a potential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New Zealand Geographer
Main Authors: Brabyn, Lars, Green, Allan, Beard, Catherine, Seppelt, Rod
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2005
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geography, Planning and Development
Victoria Land
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7939.2005.00027.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1745-7939.2005.00027.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1745-7939.2005.00027.x
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Summary:Abstract: Vegetation in Antarctica consists mainly of algae, moss and lichen and is interesting to research because of the isolation and extreme growing conditions. An understanding of this vegetation is important for both the management of tourism in Antarctica, and because it provides a potential barometer of global climate and environmental change. This paper demonstrates two applications of GIS to mapping vegetation in Victoria Land, Antarctica. The first application computes the changes that have occurred to the vegetation within a 120 m by 28 m plot between 1962 and 2004. The second application maps and analyses the growth of a lichen specimen ( Buellia frigida ) during the same period. These applications demonstrate that GIS is a multiscale technology that can be used to detect detailed change in vegetation growth.

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