干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

Examples of Continental Antarctic eases, one in East Antarctica and the other in West Antarctica, are compared with regard to their floristic composition. Each possesses an unusually favourable suite of environmental conditions which is considered to be largely responsible for the high plant species diversity and high proportion of fertile bryophytes. A small-scale oasis (a seal carcass, proabably several centuries old) in the northern Antarctic Peninsula region provided data on moss propagule dispersal as determined from the culture of soil sampled along transects radiating from the carcass. The distribution of spores and vegetative propagules of the four principal species appears to be closely correlated to the nature of the diaspores and the hydrological and aeolian characteristics of the site. These data serve to illustrate the potential role of larger-scale species-rich eases as important dispersal centres, and may serve as useful models in helping to elucidate aspects of island biogeography, diversity-stability and patch dynamics theory.