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A Holocene moss species preserved in lake sediment core and the present moss diversity at Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2012

S.M. Singh ,
R. Ochyra ,
S.M. Pednekar ,
R. Asthana  and
R. Ravindra
S.M. Singh*
Affiliation:
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa 403804, India
R. Ochyra
Affiliation:
Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków 31 512, Poland
S.M. Pednekar
Affiliation:
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa 403804, India
R. Asthana
Affiliation:
Antarctica Division, Geological Survey of India, Faridabad 121001, India
R. Ravindra
Affiliation:
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa 403804, India
*
smsingh@ncaor.org
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Abstract

The sub-fossil moss Pohlia nutans is recorded from lake sediment cores at Schirmacher Oasis, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. It was isolated from 160–162 cm depth of a sediment core. Radiocarbon (14C) dates by accelerator mass spectrometry confirmed its age to be 10.65 kyr bp. The preserved Holocene sub-fossil moss includes delicate leaves, axes and rhizoids and matches perfectly the extant specimens of P. nutans. This is the first record of this sub-fossil from Dronning Maud Land, although the species is common as present-day flora in other parts of the Antarctic. The present status of the moss flora of Schirmacher Oasis is also discussed, including its diversity, ecology and biogeography.

Keywords

biogeographyDronning Maud LandpalaeobotanyPohlia nutansstratigraphy
Type
Biological Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , 17 July 2012 , pp. 353 - 358
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2012

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