The effect of environmental change on vascular plant and cryptogam communities from the Falkland Islands and the Maritime Antarctic

Table 1 Effect of Open Top Chambers on air temperature

	Temperature difference (OTC-Control) (°C)							Degree days (sum >0°C)
	at 5 cm					Maximum	Minimum
	Summer	Autumn	Winter	Spring	Annual	Summer	Winter	Difference	% of control
Falkland Islands
grass	0.9*	0.4'	0.3'	1.1*	0.7*	5.2 **	ns	235 *	9
dwarf shrub	0.9*	0.4'	0.2'	0.7*	0.6*	5.8 **	ns	195 *	8
Signy Island
lichen	0.8**	0.6**	1.0*	0.2'	0.7**	ns	5.3 *	103 **	31
moss	0.8**	0.4**	-0.7*	0.1'	0.3**	6.0 **	ns	148 **	49
Anchorage Island
lichen	1.2**	0.8**	2.6*	-0.8'	1.1**	9.5 **	10.3 *	80 **	21
moss	0.6**	0.7**	1.9*	-0.3'	0.8**	ns	6.8 **	26 **	10
' p < 0.1 * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

Mean temperature, summer maximum, winter minimum and cumulative degree day differences between OTCs and control plots at 5 cm above the soil surface. Analyses based on the mean hourly data obtained between December 2004 and November 2005 for each community. Significant differences between OTCs and control plots are indicated. Degree days were calculated with 0°C as threshold as this is the most commonly used threshold for this variable. % of control indicates the percent increase in degree days in the OTC compared to the control value.

ISSN: 1472-6785