Antarctica is becoming increasingly green, a transformation particularly evident on the Antarctic Peninsula where areas covered by vegetation have increased tenfold in the last 40 years. This is indicated by satellite images analyzed by researchers led by Thomas Roland, from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and published in Nature Geoscience.
“The Antarctic landscape is still almost entirely dominated by snow, ice and rock, with only a small fraction colonized by plant life, but that small fraction has grown dramatically, demonstrating that even this vast and isolated wilderness is affected by climate change induced by ‘man,” Roland said.
In fact, by comparing the satellite images collected since 1986, it is possible to observe how the area of plant cover on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased from less than one square kilometer in 1986 to almost 12 square kilometers in 2021, with an increase concentrated in the last years, starting from 2016.
It is a limited cover and composed mainly of moss but the study underlines how the extension has grown very quickly and seems destined to increase further and as these new ecosystems consolidate they could alter the environment of the region.
“Soil in Antarctica is mostly poor or non-existent – commented Olly Bartlett, of the University of Hertfordshire – but this increase in plant life will add organic matter and facilitate soil formation, potentially paving the way for the growth of other plants. This increases the risk of the arrival of non-native and invasive species, possibly transported by ecotourists, scientists or other visitors to the continent.”