| Summary: | Antarctica is characterized by extreme environmental conditions, which limit the establishment of vascular plants. Theseenvironmental conditions include low temperatures, short growing season and shortage of water and nutrients. Lowwater availability has been suggested as the main constraint to successful establishment, because it adversely affects thereproductive and physiological responses of plants. Colobanthus quitensis (Kunth) Bartl. (Caryophyllaceae) is one of thetwo native vascular plants that inhabit the Maritime Antarctic and its physiological performance and recruitment have beenshown to be negatively affected by soil water stress in the Antarctica. Phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation would be two of the main strategies of C. quitensis to cope with adverse environmental conditions prevailing in the Antarcticcontinent. It has been suggested that, under a future climate change scenario, water availability will increase by 30-40%,improving the conditions for plant establishment. In this study we evaluated in a common garden experiment, conductedin growth chambers, the morpho-physiological plasticity and reproductive effort in C. quitensis individuals from two siteslocated in the Shetland Islands, under a simulated scenario of climate change (40% increase in water availability) and underthe current situation (water availability recorded in the sites of origin). Overall, individuals of C. quitensis of both sitesshowed a plastic response, increasing the photochemical efficiency, leaf width and length and reproductive effort underincreased water availability. Plasticity was greater in those individuals from the more arid site as compared to con-specificsfrom a mesic site. If current climate change patterns are maintained, abiotic conditions could become more favorable for C.quitensis, improving ecophysiological performance and allowing the spread of its range in the Antarctic. La Antártica se caracteriza por presentar condiciones ambientales extremas, lo cual limita el establecimiento de las ...
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