| Summary: | Antarctica is not the sort of place you would expect to find plants, yet it has an extremely interesting variety of vegetation. Antarctic flora has been studied extensively, with the most intense focus over the last forty years (Green et al. 1999). It is an interesting area of study because of both the isolation and extreme growing conditions of the area (Brabyn et al. 2005). The ability to survive in the terrestrial habitats of Antarctica requires organisms to possess a wide variety of unique adaptations. This report is an introduction to the terrestrial vegetation found in Antarctica, with a more in-depth focus on the adaptations of lichens. Extensive literature exists in the areas of Antarctic botany and ecology and these topics are becoming even more relevant with the threat of global environmental changes. Many scientists (Brabyn et al. 2005, Green et al. 1999, Robinson et al. 2003) have stressed the importance of understanding Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, in order to ensure their continued management and protection.
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