According to the latest development, Antarctica is undergoing a significant change. As per a study, the once-icy terrain is now gradually becoming greener. The research states that Antarctica’s vegetation growth rate has increased by over 30% in the last three decades, suggesting climate change is having a major effect on this far-off continent.
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Between 1986 and 2021, researchers observed a significant increase in vegetation cover across the Antarctic Peninsula. What was once less than one square kilometre of plant life has now expanded to nearly 12 square kilometres—a tenfold rise that highlights the accelerating changes in one of the world’s last untouched frontiers. The study team, which included specialists from the University of Exeter in the UK, tracked the Antarctic Peninsula’s “greening” using satellite data, highlighting the dire effects of global warming.
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“This recent acceleration in vegetation cover from 2016 to 2021 coincides with a marked decrease in sea-ice extent in Antarctica,” the authors stated in the study, published in Nature Geoscience. The findings provide clear evidence that a widespread greening trend is occurring and intensifying across the Antarctic Peninsula. With Antarctica warming faster than the global average, extreme heat events are becoming more frequent in the region.
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Thomas Roland, a corresponding author from the University of Exeter, explained that the plants found on the Antarctic Peninsula—primarily mosses—grow in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Although Antarctica’s landscape is mostly made up of rock, ice, and snow, whereas plants only make up a small portion, the amount of greenery there is growing dramatically. It is a critical to note that the effects of climate change are reaching even this vast and remote environment.
Co-author Oliver Bartlett of the University of Hertfordshire noted that these plant environments will probably expand more as a result of the ongoing global warming. The growth of more plants may enrich the soil with organic matter and speed up the process of forming it, which may eventually enable the growth of more varied plant species.
The experts are concerned about the long-term effects on Antarctica’s environment and are of the view that they need to look deeper to understand the mechanisms that is turning the continent green. To safeguard the area, Roland add that it’s critical to understand these developments, as their study shows how vulnerable the vegetation on the Antarctic Peninsula is to climate change. Before its wildlife and terrain are irrevocably transformed, we must take action to protect this iconic and sensitive region,” he stated.