Open Access
How to translate text using browser tools
1 November 2013 Spatial Distribution Patterns of the Antarctic Hair Grass Deschampsia antarctica in Relation to Environmental Variables on Barton Peninsula, King George Island
Jeong Soo Park, In-Young Ahn, Eun Ju Lee
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Understanding the patterns in species distribution and abundance along environmental gradients is a keystone in field ecological study. Because the Antarctic terrestrial communities are simple, they provide a suitable opportunity for studying species distribution patterns in relation to environmental gradients. We applied diverse geostatistic methods and classical statistic descriptors to analyze the spatial patterns of several variables, such as Deschampsia antarctica abundance, moss cover, topography, and soil physical and chemical properties. Directional semivariograms and kriged maps showed that strong anisotropy in a topographic variable was reflected in the soil variables. Especially, soil texture and moss cover were correlated with elevation, and electric conductivity and Na were influenced by the distance from the shoreline. Furthermore, the heavy snowfall in 2009 evidently affected the survival of the grass. A short growing period and waterlogging induced by heavy snowfall may limit survival of D. antarctica and the amount of snowfall can be a important factor limiting the grass expansion.

© 2013 Regents of the University of Colorado
Jeong Soo Park, In-Young Ahn, and Eun Ju Lee "Spatial Distribution Patterns of the Antarctic Hair Grass Deschampsia antarctica in Relation to Environmental Variables on Barton Peninsula, King George Island," Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 45(4), 563-574, (1 November 2013). https://doi.org/10.1657/1938-4246-45.4.563
Accepted: 1 April 2013; Published: 1 November 2013
Back to Top