Scholarlink

<p>As the Antarctic Peninsula continues to warm, glacial retreat is expanding ice-free areas dominated by cryptogams, particularly mosses, which play an important role in regulating soil thermal properties. However, species-specific differences in moss thermal properties and their environmental sensitivity remain poorly understood. We measured thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and relative water content in five Antarctic moss species (<i>Polytrichastrum alpinum</i>, <i>Sanionia uncinata</i>, <i>Chorisodontium aciphyllum</i>, <i>Andreaea gainii</i>, and <i>Syntrichia filaris</i>) on King George Island. We also examined how these traits varied across a natural nitrogen gradient associated with a penguin colony. Thermal properties differed significantly among species, with <i>C. aciphyllum</i> exhibiting the highest thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity, <i>S. uncinata</i> and <i>S. filaris</i> showing intermediate values, and <i>P. alpinum</i> and <i>A. gainii</i> the lowest. Relative water content explained over 70% of the variation in thermal traits. Along the nitrogen gradient, mosses at high-nitrogen sites exhibited species-specific increases in morphological traits but consistently lower relative water content and reduced thermal conductivity compared to mosses at low-nitrogen sites. However, the relative differences among species remained consistent across environments. These results demonstrate that Antarctic moss species differ in their thermal properties and that these traits are strongly linked to water content and environmental conditions. Species-specific thermal properties are likely to influence soil temperature regulation and ecosystem processes in ice-free Antarctic environments.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Thermal functional traits of Antarctic mosses link species identity, nitrogen availability and ecosystem processes

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月22日

查看全文
  • Andrew Forrest Clements,
  • Hannah M. Prather,
  • Angelica Casanova-Katny,
  • Todd N. Rosenstiel,
  • Matthew W. Chmielewski,
  • Becky A. Ball,
  • Sarah M. Eppley

摘要

As the Antarctic Peninsula continues to warm, glacial retreat is expanding ice-free areas dominated by cryptogams, particularly mosses, which play an important role in regulating soil thermal properties. However, species-specific differences in moss thermal properties and their environmental sensitivity remain poorly understood. We measured thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity, and relative water content in five Antarctic moss species (Polytrichastrum alpinum, Sanionia uncinata, Chorisodontium aciphyllum, Andreaea gainii, and Syntrichia filaris) on King George Island. We also examined how these traits varied across a natural nitrogen gradient associated with a penguin colony. Thermal properties differed significantly among species, with C. aciphyllum exhibiting the highest thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity, S. uncinata and S. filaris showing intermediate values, and P. alpinum and A. gainii the lowest. Relative water content explained over 70% of the variation in thermal traits. Along the nitrogen gradient, mosses at high-nitrogen sites exhibited species-specific increases in morphological traits but consistently lower relative water content and reduced thermal conductivity compared to mosses at low-nitrogen sites. However, the relative differences among species remained consistent across environments. These results demonstrate that Antarctic moss species differ in their thermal properties and that these traits are strongly linked to water content and environmental conditions. Species-specific thermal properties are likely to influence soil temperature regulation and ecosystem processes in ice-free Antarctic environments.