The rapid encroachment of mosses and other flora in Antarctica is raising serious concerns among scientists. According to British researchers, over the past 40 years, the Antarctic Peninsula—the largest peninsula of continental Antarctica—has seen a staggering 1000 percent increase in greenery. This trend is characteristic of the entire continent, which is rapidly becoming more verdant, largely due to global warming. While this phenomenon affects the entire planet, polar regions are warming at an accelerated pace.
A team of researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Herefordshire, collaborating with the British Antarctic Survey, utilized satellite data to assess how global warming has transformed the landscape of this harsh land. Here’s what the scientists reported: the Antarctic Peninsula extends 1,300 kilometers from the northern side of Antarctica, reaching towards South America. In recent years, this icy mountainous region has experienced record-high temperatures, much like the rest of the continent. However, back in 1986, the Antarctic Peninsula was virtually devoid of vegetation, with less than one square kilometer of its area covered in green. By 2021, that figure had risen to 12 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of 2,000 football fields.
Over the past five years, the greening of this cold region has significantly intensified, as reported by IFLScience.
Thomas Roland, an ecologist from the University of Exeter and a co-author of the study, noted that mosses are the most common plants on the peninsula. “The landscape is still almost entirely covered in snow, ice, and rock, with only a small portion inhabited by plants. But this tiny area has increased dramatically, indicating that even this vast and isolated ‘wilderness’ is being affected by human-induced climate change,” said Roland.
According to the study’s authors, as mosses grow and decompose, they create soil that facilitates the spread of other plants across the continent. “This raises the risk of non-native and invasive species appearing, possibly introduced by eco-tourists, scientists, or other visitors to the continent,” emphasized Olli Bartlett, a geographer from the University of Herefordshire. “Our findings raise serious concerns about the ecological future of the Antarctic Peninsula and the continent as a whole. To protect Antarctica, we must understand these changes and accurately identify their causes,” added Thomas Roland. The results of the study were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.