NOTES ON MOSSES IN ONGUL ISLANDS, ANTARCTICA

• Main Author: Hiroshi FUKUSHIMA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research 1968
• Subjects: geo; Syowa Station; Ongul; Ongul Island; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.15094/00007506; https://doaj.org/article/04623a948f7147e99166136cc450c408

Groups of mosses were found at 30 spots on West Ongul Island, which is about 4.1 km east-west, about 3.5 km north-south, and is situated near Syowa Station, Antarctica. The total area of the moss groups is about 750 m^2. The surface of the moss groups is remarkably uneven. It was noticed that in the elevated parts the sand beneath the mosses is always elevated, and the moss layer is usually thin. Dead mosses are common. Blue-green algae grow in abundance among the mosses. In the depressed parts, the moss layer is thick and the color is green or brown. Mosses in these depressions are flourishing. It is possible that the uneven surface has resulted from freezing, which uplifted both sand and mosses, so that the mosses became undergrown due to lack of water. In the depressions the moss groups are covered with sand, several millimeters thick, which was probably drifted by blizzard. The mosses beneath the sand are green and flourishing, whereas those in the exposed parts are brown and undergrown. This may be explained by the difference in moisture.