Are there plants in Antarctica? Yes, and this is how science studies them

When we think of Antarctica, we probably imagine a landscape dominated by ice, snow and penguins. But in the few ice-free areas, there is a plant community capable of surviving in one of the most extreme environments on the planet. Mosses, lichens and liverworts, relatives of mosses, dominate much of the continent’s terrestrial vegetation, enduring the cold, wind and long periods of darkness. They occupy an extremely small area of the permanently ice-free land: around 44 km², equivalent to just 0.00031% of the total surface area of the White Continent.

Understanding how these organisms survive and how they will respond to global warming is the goal of the BIPOLAR project, led by researcher Mariana García Criado, currently a professor at Trinity College Dublin and affiliated with CREAF as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral researcher. Following her first project campaign in Finnish Lapland in the summer of 2025, this year Mariana participated in her first Antarctic expedition alongside Claudia Colesie, a professor at the University of Edinburgh and a specialist in flora from extreme environments.

Antarctica is one of the last large regions on the planet relatively undisturbed by human activity, although increased tourism and invasive species are beginning to change this. For science, it is a true natural laboratory where there are no large terrestrial herbivores, infrastructure is minimal, and pollution levels are very low compared to other countries, although unfortunately, pollution is increasingly being detected in this remote place. These conditions make it an ideal location to study the effects of climate change on species and ecosystems without many of the disturbances present in other parts of the world.

During the campaign, the researchers stayed for a month at the Professor Julio Escudero Scientific Base, managed by the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), from where they carried out about twenty days of fieldwork.

This vegetation is key to the functioning of Antarctic ecosystems because it provides refuge for numerous microorganisms and contributes to nutrient recycling. Despite this, relatively little is known about its distribution, dynamics, and response to global warming, making its study a scientific priority. Furthermore, these plants are especially sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, although the impacts of climate change are not immediately apparent because their growth is extremely slow, and they can even enter a dormant state (similar to hibernation in animals) when environmental conditions are unfavorable.

This is precisely where the BIPOLAR project comes in. The team seeks to understand how these plant communities vary according to microclimatic conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic. To do this, they study the diversity, abundance, physiology, and distribution of mosses, liverworts, and lichens, relating them to environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and wind exposure through fieldwork, remote sensing, and microclimate sensors.

Doing science in Antarctica involves much more than collecting data. In such a remote and ever-changing environment, logistics becomes a fundamental part of the research. "Besides long walks, many journeys are made in small boats, or Zodiacs, which are essential for accessing different study areas." In fact, the researcher explains that part of the campaign took place on Ardley Island, a small nearby island whose access depends on the tides. "It was only possible to cross to it on foot for a few hours a day!"

One of the most innovative elements of the campaign was the use of drones to map Antarctic vegetation. From the air, these devices capture very high-resolution images that allow for the identification of moss and lichen communities with a high level of detail and on a scale impossible to obtain from the ground. Thanks to these images, it is possible to map the distribution of vegetation, detect changes in its condition, and study how it responds to environmental conditions.

But even the most advanced technology depends on the weather. "Drones are especially sensitive to these conditions. To obtain useful images, clear skies, good visibility, and little wind were needed—a combination that isn't always easy to find in Antarctica," the scientist explains.

The BIPOLAR project is not limited to observing what is happening today in polar ecosystems, but also incorporates paleoecological studies based on fossils up to 11,000 years old. These records allow us to reconstruct how mosses and lichens have evolved in Antarctic ecosystems since the end of the last ice age and how they responded to past climate changes. Thus, by combining this information from the past with large ecological and climate databases, we can obtain clues about how polar ecosystems will respond to an increasingly warmer planet,” the researcher explains.

This expedition is part of her professional career studying polar ecosystems, but her intention is to establish one of the first long-term microclimate monitoring networks in Antarctica. For Mariana, the expedition has been a dream come true. "I've worked extensively in the Arctic, including Greenland, but never here. I've been able to see incredible landscapes, meet new collaborators, and of course, I've seen penguins!" she concludes, clearly satisfied with the trip.

This expedition received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme through the Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship project BIPOLAR (grant agreement No. 101152158), and from the Horizon Europe programme through the European project POLARIN (Grant Agreement ID: 101130949).

You can read Mariana's article on the blog of the Temporal Ecology and Biogeography Lab research group.