Moss growth in Antarctica linked to climate change

Increases in temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula during the latter part of the 20th century were accompanied by an acceleration in moss growth, scientists have learned. Writing in the journal Current Biology they describe the activity as unprecedented in the last 150 years. By combining multiple analyses we have clearly demonstrated a substantial increase in plant growth since the 1960s, coincident with changes to the local climate - Jessica Royles, Lead Author The Peninsula sustains moss banks some of which are more than 5000 years old. A team from British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the University of Cambridge and the University of Exeter sampled the most southerly known moss bank, at Lazarev Bay on Alexander Island, in 2008. The researchers extracted a short peat core from the bank and, using radiocarbon dating techniques, ascertained the start of peat accumulation to have been around the year 1860. Microscopic tests established it was formed from a single species ( Polytrichum strictum ). The Antarctic Peninsula is known to have witnessed significant warming since the 1950s, when official records started.