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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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2006

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Chlorophyll fluorescence

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Climate Change Manipulations Show Antarctic Flora Is More Strongly Affected By Elevated Nutrients Than Water, J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp Jul 2006

Climate Change Manipulations Show Antarctic Flora Is More Strongly Affected By Elevated Nutrients Than Water, J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Climate change is expected to affect the high latitudes first and most severely, rendering Antarctica one of the most significant baseline environments for the study of global climate change. The indirect effects of climate warming, including changes to the availability of key environmental resources, such as water and nutrients, are likely to have a greater impact upon continental Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems than the effects of fluctuations in temperature alone. To investigate the likely impacts of a wetter climate on Antarctic terrestrial communities a multi-season, manipulative field experiment was conducted in the floristically important Windmill Islands region of East Antarctica. Four …


Some Like It Wet – Biological Characteristics Underpinning Tolerance Of Extreme Water Stress Events In Antarctic Bryophytes., J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp Apr 2006

Some Like It Wet – Biological Characteristics Underpinning Tolerance Of Extreme Water Stress Events In Antarctic Bryophytes., J. Wasley, Sharon A. Robinson, C. E. Lovelock, M. Popp

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Antarctic bryophyte communities presently tolerate physiological extremes in water availability, surviving both desiccation and submergence events. This study investigated the relative ability of three Antarctic moss species to tolerate physiological extremes in water availability and identified physiological, morphological, and biochemical characteristics that assist species performance under such conditions. Tolerance of desiccation and submergence was investigated using chlorophyll fluorescence during a series of field- and laboratory-based water stress events. Turf water retention and degree of natural habitat submergence were determined from gametophyte shoot size and density and ?13C signatures respectively. Finally, compounds likely to assist membrane structure and function during desiccation …