Vegetation and ecology of ice-free areas of northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

Summary

Forty tow lichen taxa, five bryophyte taxa and the algaPrasiola crispa were recorded from ice free areas at the coast and from an isolated mountain, 70 km inland of northern Victoria Land. Pattern and density of vegetation characterized the area as probably more desertic than others investigated in eastern Antarctica, although locally a biomass of up to 1 kg m^-2 was found. Moss fields were very small and a richer lichen vegetation was found only on north facing rock sites of the coastal escarpment. On a talus of granitic rock between 70 and 110 m above sea level lichens were confined to microhabitats between rocks as in oases. This was similar on the mountain slopes of the nunatak. On rocks rising out of meltwater pools the abundance of lichens increased markedly. Cryptogamic communities were defined as Usneetum sulphureae “purum”, Usneetum sulphureae “mixtum” and the bryophilous Buellietum olivaceobruneae. The epibryic community was not specific to particular moss species, therefore no moss name was given to the association.