Antarctic bryology: past achievements and new perspectives

摘要

The first botanical collections from the Antarctic regions were made from the South Shetland Island in 1820; on Cockburn Island of the north east tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, in 1843; and from Cape Adare, northern Victoria Land (the first continental Antarctic collection) in 1895. Since then most expeditions have made biological collections, now scattered amongst a great many institutions and different countries. The flora of Antarctica includes only 2 vascular plants, around 100 mosses, 25-30 hepatics, 250 lichens, and around 700 terrestrial and aquatic algae, confined to the 2% of its 14 million km~2 area that is ice free. Historically, most studies have been of a biogeographic nature, with comparatively few critical taxonomic appraisals. While there are a number of apparently endemic taxa, particularly amongst the lichens, recent critical studies have shown that under the severe climate many morphotypes have been incorrectly determined. There is an increasing extra-Antarctic and Bipolar element in the flora. Logistic difficulties, lack of specialists in terested in the Antarctic flora, differing taxonomic interpretations and, often, poor collections, compound the difficulties associated with the study of the flora. Despite this, a renewed interest in phytogeography and biodiversity, and the application of new methodologies such as ecophysiology and molecular genetics, is leading to new insights on the origin and biodiversity of the flora, and potential impacts of global climate change. The time is now ripe for a coordinated and integrated methodological approach to the study of this fascinating region and its flora.