Determination of stomatic density, index, and area as exposition biomarkers of pollution in Deschampsia antárctica Desv. (Poaceae)

Abstract: Until not so long ago, Antarctica was considered to be a polar region practically pristine. The Antarctic Peninsula has the highest concentration of scientific stations from different countries. Anthropogenic activity has caused alterations in the Antarctic ecosystems directly affecting te...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecotoxicology
Main Authors: Dopchiz, Laura Patricia, Ansaldo, Martín
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:Spanish
Published: Springer 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/handle/123456789/16804
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02589-5
Description
Summary:Abstract: Until not so long ago, Antarctica was considered to be a polar region practically pristine. The Antarctic Peninsula has the highest concentration of scientific stations from different countries. Anthropogenic activity has caused alterations in the Antarctic ecosystems directly affecting terrestrial vegetation. This fact requires the finding of biomarkers in native plants to estimate the effects of human impact. Deschampsia antarctica Desv. (Poaceae) is the unique native grass described so far for Antarctica and was used for multiple investigations. In this study, plants were collected on Carlini scientific station, 25 de Mayo (King George) Island, Potter Peninsula, South Shetland Islands. Thus, the main objective planned consists of the evaluation of leaf stomata-related parameters as pollution biomarkers. The results of the stomatic index (SI), density (SD), and area (SA) were shown at sites with different levels of human impact (close and far away from the scientific station). It was found that the correlation between SD and SI, on the adaxial side of the leaves, resulted in a good biomarker for estimating the degree of anthropogenic impact in each studied area.