Soil algae from northern Victoria Land (Antarctica

• Main Author: Paolo Cavacini
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2001
• Subjects: Victoria Land; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.497.2916; http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~penguin/polarbiosci/issues/pdf/2001-Cavacini.pdf

Abstract: Samples of dry mineral soil with no apparent algal vegetation were collected from 20 locations of northern Victoria Land (Antarctica) to determine their microalgal content. Direct microscopic examination and cultures revealed the pres-ence of 63 taxa, mostly represented by Chlorophyta (29 taxa) and Cyanobacteria (22 taxa). Other components observed included Xanthophyta (9 taxa) and Bacillariophyta (3 taxa). Descriptions of the 15 species newly recorded for Continental Antarctica or the whole of Antarctica are given. A comparison among other studies shows that northern Victoria Land edaphic microflora only partially corresponds with the micro-flora present in other locations of Victoria Land or in other areas of Antarctica. key words: algae, cyanobacteria, soil, floristic, Antarctica