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Warnstorfia exannulata, an aquatic moss in the Arctic: seasonal growth responses

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Abstract

The moss, Warnstorfia exannulata (Schimp.) Loeske, was first reported forming a carpet beside a water pool in Ny-Ålesund (78°56′N), Svalbard in 1959. Fifty years later, in 2008, it was found growing as an aquatic in a pool. The moss is sensitive to seasonal changes and exhibits a pattern of seasonal growth: summer stems with densely arranged leaves and lateral branches, and winter growth with short-leaved stems and no lateral branch. The mean daily increase in stem length is 0.68 mm in summer and 0.07 mm in winter. The longest specimens were up to 8 years old. The growth of the moss reflects closely seasonal temperature and growth conditions. World distribution is discussed and global distribution mapped.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, the State Oceanic Administration of China. Many thanks also to the members of the 5th Chinese Antarctic Scientific Expedition teams for their help during the field work. We would like to thank Halina Bednarek-Ochyra for providing the drawings of the leaves. This study was supported by the International Co-operation Project of Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (No. IC 201103), the Innovation Key Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KSCX2-EW-J-1) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41271222).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100093, China

    Cai-Qing Guo, Peng-Cheng Wu, Yi-Feng Yao & Cheng-Sen Li

  2. Institute of Botany, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, 31-512, Poland

    Ryszard Ochyra

  3. Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, 7050, Tasmania, Australia

    Rodney D. Seppelt

  4. Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Lin-Gen Bian

  5. Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, 100037, China

    Su-Ping Li

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  1. Cai-Qing Guo
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  3. Peng-Cheng Wu
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  8. Cheng-Sen Li
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Correspondence to Cheng-Sen Li.

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Guo, CQ., Ochyra, R., Wu, PC. et al. Warnstorfia exannulata, an aquatic moss in the Arctic: seasonal growth responses. Climatic Change 119, 407–419 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-013-0724-5

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