你能想像一片綠油油的南極洲嗎？日前,，一支由英國和澳洲科學家組成的考察隊發(fā)布了最新研究成果：由于全球暖化,，南極洲一種開花植物在過去50年中持續(xù)向周圍蔓延，一些地方將被綠色的植被覆蓋,。
這項研究被發(fā)表在《自然》雜志上,，班戈大學（Bangor University）科學家希爾（Paul Hill）表示，一到夏天,，南極半島和冰凍大陸周圍海島上的冰雪就開始融化,，隨后長滿了苔蘚和部分開花植物。
在這片沒有樹木生長的冰川大陸上,，只有南極洲發(fā)草（Antarctic Hairgrass）和南極漆姑草（Antarctic pearlwort）這兩種開花植物生長在南極洲西部地區(qū)和周邊小島,。近年，隨著全球氣溫的上升,，南極洲的夏天變得更久更熱,，其中一種開花植物—南極洲發(fā)草生長速度明顯提高，并向四周蔓延,。
研究指出，由于氣溫升高，南極大陸土壤因升溫而分解產生出氮氣,，充足的氮氣為發(fā)草生長提供了極佳的養(yǎng)分,，而全球燃料消耗所產生的工業(yè)氮不僅使全球氣溫升高，同時也促進了養(yǎng)分的產生,，這些原因使發(fā)草能夠利用短暫的夏天迅速生長,。若現今的情況持續(xù)下去，白雪皚皚的南極洲將有可能在未來成為一片「綠色大陸」,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature Climate Change doi:10.1038/nclimate1060
Vascular plant success in a warming Antarctic may be due to efficient nitrogen acquisition
Paul W. Hill,1 John Farrar,1 Paula Roberts,1 Mark Farrell,1, 2, 7 Helen Grant,3 Kevin K. Newsham,4 David W. Hopkins,5, 6, 7 Richard D. Bardgett2 & Davey L. Jones1
For the past 50 years there has been rapid warming in the maritime Antarctic1, 2, 3, with concurrent, and probably temperature-mediated, proliferation of the two native plants, Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis) and especially Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica)4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. In many terrestrial ecosystems at high latitudes, nitrogen (N) supply regulates primary productivity11, 12, 13. Although the predominant view is that only inorganic and amino acid N are important sources of N for angiosperms, most N enters soil as protein. Maritime Antarctic soils have large stocks of proteinaceous N, which is released slowly as decomposition is limited by low temperatures. Consequently, an ability to acquire N at an early stage of availability is key to the success of photosynthetic organisms. Here we show that D. antarctica can acquire N through its roots as short peptides, produced at an early stage of protein decomposition, acquiring N over three times faster than as amino acid, nitrate or ammonium, and more than 160 times faster than the mosses with which it competes. Efficient acquisition of the N released in faster decomposition of soil organic matter as temperatures rise14 may give D. antarctica an advantage over competing mosses that has facilitated its recent proliferation in the maritime Antarctic.
