Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic)
Mosses are dominant components of high-latitude environments, and Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) provides a representative example of polar cryptogam-dominated terrestrial ecosystems. In 2011, we mapped all moss banks, their characteristics (thickness, area, floristic composition) and investigate...
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ftuninsubriairis:oai:irinsubria.uninsubria.it:11383/2072521 2024-04-14T08:04:39+00:00 Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, MICHELE Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, Michele Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro 2017 http://hdl.handle.net/11383/2072521 https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box040 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117997017/home eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000406943300007 volume:184 issue:4 firstpage:518 lastpage:533 numberofpages:16 journal:BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY http://hdl.handle.net/11383/2072521 doi:10.1093/botlinnean/box040 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85042385486 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117997017/home Biotic and abiotic disturbance Deglaciation age Environmental factor Fur seal Mosse Topography Westerly wind Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Plant Science info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftuninsubriairis https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box040 2024-03-21T19:03:58Z Mosses are dominant components of high-latitude environments, and Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) provides a representative example of polar cryptogam-dominated terrestrial ecosystems. In 2011, we mapped all moss banks, their characteristics (thickness, area, floristic composition) and investigated their relationship with selected environmental factors including topography (elevation, slope, aspect), biotic disturbance (fur seals), deglaciation age of the surfaces, location on the eastern vs. western side of the island and snow cover as a proxy of water supply during the summer (December). We here identify the most important environmental factors influencing moss bank characteristics and distribution and provide a baseline for future monitoring. Moss bank abundance and distribution are the result of the interaction of multiple abiotic and biotic factors acting at different spatial scales. The most important factors are the location of moss banks on the eastern vs. western side of the island at the macroscale (with thicker and larger moss banks and a prevalence of Chorisodontium aciphyllum on the western side) and their favourable aspect (mainly N, NW) at the microscale, providing better microclimatic conditions suitable for their development. The elevation threshold detected at 120 m could indicate the occurrence of a 'moss bank line', analogous to the tree line, and corresponds with a threshold of mean annual temperature of -4.8 °C. The other factors examined play a subsidiary role in affecting bank distribution and characteristics. These findings allow a better understanding of this key feature of maritime Antarctic vegetation and provide quantitative information about their ecology. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Signy Island IRInSubria - Institutional Repository Insubria (Università degli Studi dell’Insubria) Antarctic Signy Island ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 184 4 518 533 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
IRInSubria - Institutional Repository Insubria (Università degli Studi dell’Insubria) |
op_collection_id |
ftuninsubriairis |
language |
English |
topic |
Biotic and abiotic disturbance Deglaciation age Environmental factor Fur seal Mosse Topography Westerly wind Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Plant Science |
spellingShingle |
Biotic and abiotic disturbance Deglaciation age Environmental factor Fur seal Mosse Topography Westerly wind Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Plant Science Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, MICHELE Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
topic_facet |
Biotic and abiotic disturbance Deglaciation age Environmental factor Fur seal Mosse Topography Westerly wind Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Plant Science |
description |
Mosses are dominant components of high-latitude environments, and Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) provides a representative example of polar cryptogam-dominated terrestrial ecosystems. In 2011, we mapped all moss banks, their characteristics (thickness, area, floristic composition) and investigated their relationship with selected environmental factors including topography (elevation, slope, aspect), biotic disturbance (fur seals), deglaciation age of the surfaces, location on the eastern vs. western side of the island and snow cover as a proxy of water supply during the summer (December). We here identify the most important environmental factors influencing moss bank characteristics and distribution and provide a baseline for future monitoring. Moss bank abundance and distribution are the result of the interaction of multiple abiotic and biotic factors acting at different spatial scales. The most important factors are the location of moss banks on the eastern vs. western side of the island at the macroscale (with thicker and larger moss banks and a prevalence of Chorisodontium aciphyllum on the western side) and their favourable aspect (mainly N, NW) at the microscale, providing better microclimatic conditions suitable for their development. The elevation threshold detected at 120 m could indicate the occurrence of a 'moss bank line', analogous to the tree line, and corresponds with a threshold of mean annual temperature of -4.8 °C. The other factors examined play a subsidiary role in affecting bank distribution and characteristics. These findings allow a better understanding of this key feature of maritime Antarctic vegetation and provide quantitative information about their ecology. |
author2 |
Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, Michele Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, MICHELE Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro |
author_facet |
Cannone, Nicoletta DALLE FRATTE, MICHELE Convey, Peter Worland, M. Roger Guglielmin, Mauro |
author_sort |
Cannone, Nicoletta |
title |
Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
title_short |
Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
title_full |
Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
title_fullStr |
Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Ecology of moss banks on Signy Island (maritime Antarctic) |
title_sort |
ecology of moss banks on signy island (maritime antarctic) |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11383/2072521 https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box040 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117997017/home |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) |
geographic |
Antarctic Signy Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Signy Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Signy Island |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Signy Island |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000406943300007 volume:184 issue:4 firstpage:518 lastpage:533 numberofpages:16 journal:BOTANICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY http://hdl.handle.net/11383/2072521 doi:10.1093/botlinnean/box040 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-85042385486 http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/117997017/home |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/box040 |
container_title |
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society |
container_volume |
184 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
518 |
op_container_end_page |
533 |
_version_ |
1796301317916852224 |