Abstract
Our knowledge of the ecophysiology of photosynthetic production of Antarctic lichens is based on separate investigations made with species from the maritime Antarctic or species from the continental Antarctic, but no studies have yet been made comparing the same or similar species in both areas. Many data have been published from field and laboratory measurements on Signy Island, although much less about lichens (Lindsay, 1978; Hooker, 1980a,b,c) than about bryophytes (Baker, 1972; Collins, 1977; Collins and Callaghan, 1980; Fenton, 1980). With respect to the continental Antarctic there are more studies on lichens (Gannutz, 1970; Lange and Kappen, 1972; Schofield and Ahmadjian, 1972; Kappen 1983a; Kappen and Friedmann, 1983) than on mosses (Rastorfer, 1970; Longton, 1974; Ino, 1983). Climate and ecological conditions are very different in the two areas, particularly the winter conditions. In the maritime Antarctic, as the author has seen on King George Island, the abundance and variety of lichens is remarkable. In continental Antarctica, even near the coast of northern Victoria Land (Kappen, 1983b) lichens may be considered to be extremely resistant representatives of a pioneer vegetation in a polar desert. Consequently, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether lichens show adaptive physiological differences or whether they have the same physiological and ecological requirements in the polar desert and the maritime Antarctic due to presumably convergent habitat conditions.
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© 1985 Plenum Press, New York
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Kappen, L. (1985). Water Relations and Net Photosynthesis of Usnea. A Comparison between Usnea Fasciata (Maritime Antarctic) and Usnea Sulphurea (Continental Antarctic). In: Brown, D.H. (eds) Lichen Physiology and Cell Biology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2527-7_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2527-7_4
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