Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Can Moss Really Survive in Antarctic Temperatures?


Moss can survive in antarctic temperatures! 
Antartica is home to about 100 moss species, 
which is by far the dominant plant species on the continent.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426293920955062903/ 

Antartica experiences very harsh conditions for plant life survival such as freezing temperatures, poor soil quality, little sunlight, and a lack of moisture! Research biologists from the Korea Polar Research Unit, funded by their “Polar Genomes 101 Project,” are looking into plant adaptation to harsh environmental conditions. They state, “We will search for as yet unknown signaling mechanisms in the moss that have evolved over millions of years to make life in remote and hostile places possible. I find this article and research fascinating! I have only ever really known Antartica for cold temperatures and penguins. It is very neat to learn that it is also home to 100 moss species as well! I have an open air globe with moss and tillandsia and am amazed that I only need to water it twice a week. It does not require much sunlight, attention, or certain temperatures. I love that moss is becoming increasingly popular as well as research on it!

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-26614092 

2 comments:

  1. This is a neat discovery for the plant specials in general which can be advantageous to both plants and to humans as well that live in extreme conditions where food is limited. Perhaps with continuous study on what genes attribute to this characteristic of the moss species one day there may be farm lands in Antarctica and anywhere else with frigid temperatures.

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  2. ]If moss gets dry it shrivels up and then when it rains it bursts back into life again. I thinks there's a plant called the Lazarus plant that relates to moss. But its weird, 1500 years ago this moss was soaking in sunshine growing away until all of a sudden it got really cold, global chilling, and got covered in ice. Then global warming happened, so it sprouted again. So the World isn't coming to an end it's just going back to how it was 1500 years ago!

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