Data from: Species-specific effects of passive warming in an Antarctic moss system ...

• Main Authors: Prather, Hannah M., Casanova-Katny, M. Angelica, Clements, Andrew F., Chmielewski, Matthew W., Balkan, Mehmet A., Shortlidge, Erin E., Rosenstiel, Todd N., Eppley, Sarah M.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: Mosses; bryophytes; Open Top Chamber; Antarctic; Arctic; Fildes; Fildes peninsula; King George Island; South Shetland Islands; Antarc*; Antarctica; Climate change
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mv32031; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.mv32031

Polar systems are experiencing rapid climate change and the high sensitivity of these Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems make them especially vulnerable to accelerated ecological transformation. In Antarctica, warming regions result in a mosaic of ice-free terrestrial habitats dominated by a diverse assemblage of cryptogamic plants (i.e. mosses and lichens). Although these plants provide key habitat for a wide array of microorganisms and invertebrates, we have little understanding of the interaction between trophic levels in this terrestrial ecosystem, and whether there are functional effects of plant species on higher trophic levels that may alter with warming. Here, we used Open Top Chambers (OTCs) on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, to examine the effects of passive warming and moss species on the abiotic environment and ultimately on higher trophic levels. For the dominate mosses, Polytrichastrum alpinum and Sanionia georgicouncinata, we found species-specific effects on the abiotic ... : King George Island Antarctica, Bryophyte Community Dataset These data were collected on a bryophyte (moss) community under 8 years of experimental passive warming on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. These data quantify changes in moss canopy characteristics, moss invertebrate communities and moss fungal biomass under passive warming. ...