title: Plants and soil microbes respond to recent warming on the Antarctic Peninsula.
abstract: Annual temperatures on the Antarctic Peninsula, one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, have risen by up to 0.56°C per decade since the 1950s. Terrestrial and marine organisms have shown changes in populations and distributions over this time, suggesting that the ecology of the Antarctic Peninsula is changing rapidly. However, these biological records are shorter in length than the meteorological data, and observed population changes cannot be securely linked to longer-term trends apparent in paleoclimate data. We developed a unique time series of past moss growth and soil microbial activity from a 150-year-old moss bank at the southern limit of significant plant growth based on accumulation rates, cellulose δ(13)C, and fossil testate amoebae. We show that growth rates and microbial productivity have risen rapidly since the 1960s, consistent with temperature changes, although recently they may have stalled. The recent increase in terrestrial plant growth rates and soil microbial activity are unprecedented in the last 150 years and are consistent with climate change. Future changes in terrestrial biota are likely to track projected temperature increases closely and will fundamentally change the ecology and appearance of the Antarctic Peninsula.
authors.affiliation: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK; Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK. Electronic address: jesyle@bas.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Royles
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Amesbury
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Convey
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.forename: Dominic A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Leng
authors.forename: Dan J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Charman
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D057231:Climate Change; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D012988:Soil Microbiology