Growth Rate of Usnea aurantiacoatra (Jacq.) Bory on Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica and Its Climatic Background

The ages of a fruticose lichen of Usnea aurantiacoatra (Jacq.) Bory, from Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Southwest Antarctic, were determined by radiocarbon (C-14), and it is 1993-1996 at bottom and 2006-2007 at top of the lichen branch. The growth rates of U. aurantiacoatra calculated are 4....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLoS ONE
Main Authors: Li, Ying, Kromer, Bernd, Schukraft, Gerd, Bubenzer, Olaf, Huang, Man-Rong, Wang, Ze-Min, Bian, Lin-Gen, Li, Cheng-Sen
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE 2014
Subjects:
Multidisciplinary Sciences
KING-GEORGE-ISLAND
RHIZOCARPON-GEOGRAPHICUM
LICHEN COLONIZATION
PARMELIACEAE
MORAINES
RANGE
Science & Technology - Other Topics
Antarctic
King George Island
Fildes
Fildes peninsula
Bory
Antarc*
Antarctica
Online Access:http://ir.ibcas.ac.cn/handle/2S10CLM1/27316
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0100735
Description
Summary:The ages of a fruticose lichen of Usnea aurantiacoatra (Jacq.) Bory, from Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Southwest Antarctic, were determined by radiocarbon (C-14), and it is 1993-1996 at bottom and 2006-2007 at top of the lichen branch. The growth rates of U. aurantiacoatra calculated are 4.3 to 5.5 mm year(-1) based on its length and ages. The comparisons show that the growth rates of U. aurantiacoatra are higher than those of U. antarctica (0.4 to 1.1 mm year(-1)). The growth rates of fruticose lichens are always higher, usually > 2 mm year(-1), than those of crustose ones, usually < 1 mm year(-1), in polar areas. A warming trend on Fildes Peninsula is recorded in the period from 1969 to 2010 obviously: the mean annual temperature rose from -2.75 to -1.9 degrees C and the average temperature of summer months from 0.95 to 1.4 degrees C, as well as the average temperature of winter months from -6.75 to -5.5 degrees C. The alteration of lichen growth rates in polar areas may respond to the climatic and environmental changes, and the lichens may act as bio-monitor of natural condition.

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