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Vegetation recovery after the removal of a facility in Elephant Island, Maritime Antarctic
Author(s) -
Putzke Jair,
Vieira Frederico Costa Beber,
Pereira Antonio Batista
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.3431
Subject(s) - revegetation , vegetation (pathology) , biodiversity , ecosystem , environmental science , land reclamation , geography , physical geography , ecology , oceanography , biology , geology , medicine , pathology
This study aimed to evaluate the speed of revegetation of Antarctic soil affected by 13 years of anthropogenic influence in the form of a refuge building at Stinker Point, Elephant Island, Antarctica. Fourteen years after the removal, in the 2011/2012 austral summer, a qualitative survey of the vegetation cover and biodiversity was conducted using photographs and image processing of the entire field. Data were compared with records from the Technical Archive of the Brazilian Antarctic Program. Recovery had occurred at a faster rate than expected. There was a rapid covering of Deschampsia antarctica Desv. (Poaceae), Sanionia uncinata (Hedw.) Loeske, and Bryum argentum Hedw. (Bryophyta), evidenced by the larger percentage of surface coverage and frequency by these species. The findings are important because they help establish new concepts on environmental security related to preserving plant communities in new Antarctic settlements or camps, supporting that the rapid recovery of the ecosystem after their removal is possible.