Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are unique natural laboratories where organisms adapted to extreme environmental conditions have evolved in isolation for millions of years. These unique biotic communities on Earth are facing complex climatic and environmental changes. Terrestrial ecosystems in the...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:183f98401185426e995a5b3468f14ba4 2023-05-15T13:36:51+02:00 Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts R. Bargagli 2020-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 https://doaj.org/article/183f98401185426e995a5b3468f14ba4 EN UK eng ukr State Institution National Antarctic Scientific Center http://uaj.uac.gov.ua/index.php/uaj/article/view/656 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-7485 https://doaj.org/toc/2415-3087 1727-7485 2415-3087 doi:10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 https://doaj.org/article/183f98401185426e995a5b3468f14ba4 Український антарктичний журнал, Iss 2, Pp 84-97 (2020) antarctic peninsula anthropogenic impacts climate change terrestrial ecosystems Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 2022-12-31T09:52:56Z Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are unique natural laboratories where organisms adapted to extreme environmental conditions have evolved in isolation for millions of years. These unique biotic communities on Earth are facing complex climatic and environmental changes. Terrestrial ecosystems in the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) have experienced the highest rate of climate warming and, being the most impacted by human activities, are facing the greatest risk of detrimental changes. This review provides an overview of the most recent findings on how biotic communities in terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) are responding and will likely respond to further environmental changes and direct anthropogenic impacts. Knowledge gained from studies on relatively simple terrestrial ecosystems could be very useful in predicting what may happen in much more complex ecosystems in regions with less extreme temperature changes. The rapid warming of the APR has led to the retreat of glaciers, the loss of snow and permafrost and the increase of ice-free areas, with a consequent enhancement of soil-forming processes, biotic communities, and food web complexity. However, most human activity is concentrated in APR coastal ice-free areas and poses many threats to terrestrial ecosystems such as environmental pollution or disturbances to soil communities and wildlife. People who work or visit APR may inadvertently introduce alien organisms and/or spread native species to spatially isolated ice-free areas. The number of introduced non-indigenous species and xenobiotic compounds in the APR is likely to be greater than currently documented, and several biosecurity and monitoring activities are therefore suggested to Antarctic national scientific programs and tourism operators to minimize the risk of irreversible loss of integrity by the unique terrestrial ecosystems of APR. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice permafrost Southern Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Ukrainian Antarctic Journal 2 84 97 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English Ukrainian |
topic |
antarctic peninsula anthropogenic impacts climate change terrestrial ecosystems Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
spellingShingle |
antarctic peninsula anthropogenic impacts climate change terrestrial ecosystems Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 R. Bargagli Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
topic_facet |
antarctic peninsula anthropogenic impacts climate change terrestrial ecosystems Meteorology. Climatology QC851-999 Geophysics. Cosmic physics QC801-809 |
description |
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean are unique natural laboratories where organisms adapted to extreme environmental conditions have evolved in isolation for millions of years. These unique biotic communities on Earth are facing complex climatic and environmental changes. Terrestrial ecosystems in the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) have experienced the highest rate of climate warming and, being the most impacted by human activities, are facing the greatest risk of detrimental changes. This review provides an overview of the most recent findings on how biotic communities in terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula Region (APR) are responding and will likely respond to further environmental changes and direct anthropogenic impacts. Knowledge gained from studies on relatively simple terrestrial ecosystems could be very useful in predicting what may happen in much more complex ecosystems in regions with less extreme temperature changes. The rapid warming of the APR has led to the retreat of glaciers, the loss of snow and permafrost and the increase of ice-free areas, with a consequent enhancement of soil-forming processes, biotic communities, and food web complexity. However, most human activity is concentrated in APR coastal ice-free areas and poses many threats to terrestrial ecosystems such as environmental pollution or disturbances to soil communities and wildlife. People who work or visit APR may inadvertently introduce alien organisms and/or spread native species to spatially isolated ice-free areas. The number of introduced non-indigenous species and xenobiotic compounds in the APR is likely to be greater than currently documented, and several biosecurity and monitoring activities are therefore suggested to Antarctic national scientific programs and tourism operators to minimize the risk of irreversible loss of integrity by the unique terrestrial ecosystems of APR. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
R. Bargagli |
author_facet |
R. Bargagli |
author_sort |
R. Bargagli |
title |
Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
title_short |
Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
title_full |
Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
title_fullStr |
Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Terrestrial ecosystems of the Antarctic Peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
title_sort |
terrestrial ecosystems of the antarctic peninsula and their responses to climate change and anthropogenic impacts |
publisher |
State Institution National Antarctic Scientific Center |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 https://doaj.org/article/183f98401185426e995a5b3468f14ba4 |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice permafrost Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica Ice permafrost Southern Ocean |
op_source |
Український антарктичний журнал, Iss 2, Pp 84-97 (2020) |
op_relation |
http://uaj.uac.gov.ua/index.php/uaj/article/view/656 https://doaj.org/toc/1727-7485 https://doaj.org/toc/2415-3087 1727-7485 2415-3087 doi:10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 https://doaj.org/article/183f98401185426e995a5b3468f14ba4 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.33275/1727-7485.2.2020.656 |
container_title |
Ukrainian Antarctic Journal |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
84 |
op_container_end_page |
97 |
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1766085036468076544 |