Mapping Antarctica’s hidden ice-free lands: a blueprint for conservation

(Press-News.org) Antarctica, often regarded as the planet’s last true wilderness, harbours unique ecosystems that support extraordinary biodiversity and contribute to global diversity and environmental stability. These ecosystems, which occupy permanently ice-free land covering less than 0.5% of the continent, are now under growing threat from human activity and climate change.

Now, a team led by researchers at UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Ecosystem Science has developed a high-resolution map and hierarchical classification system of Antarctica’s ice-free lands, which can be seen in full in Scientific Data.

This new inventory categorizes Antarctica’s ecosystems into nine Major Environment Units, 33 Habitat Complexes, and 269 Bioregional Ecosystem Types, providing an unprecedented level of detail. Together they are a groundbreaking resource that will help protect the biodiversity of Antarctica’s ice-free lands.

Ice-free Antarctica “Many people are surprised to learn that Antarctica has any permanently ice-free lands at all. And yet, these tiny habitat patches contain the vast majority of the continent’s biodiversity,” says lead author Dr Anikó B. Tóth.

The ice-free lands are home to uniquely adapted flora including ‘micro-forests’ of lichens, moss and two flowering plants, Antarctic hairgrass and pearlwort. They also sustain a variety of mites and springtails (very tiny arthropods related to spiders and insects, respectively), tardigrades, nematodes and many algaes and microbes. Seabirds, including land-breeding penguins, petrels, gulls, skuas and albatrosses have established breeding colonies in these areas too.

As the climate changes and ice melts, the patches will likely become milder and less isolated, opening them up to colonisation by hardy species from lower latitudes.

“It’s the opposite problem that many conventional ecosystems face today. Instead of fragmentation and loss of area, ice-free patches will become larger and more interconnected,” says Dr Tóth.

“This could completely change the dynamics and resident species of these ecosystems, whose distinctiveness is often founded on isolation.”

A game changer for conservation Senior author, Professor David Keith, says this typology and map represent a transformative leap forward in our understanding of Antarctic ecosystems.

“By integrating biophysical and biological data, we’ve created a robust framework to guide conservation efforts under the Antarctic Treaty System.”

The classification aligns with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Global Ecosystem Typology, placing Antarctica in a global context and highlighting the continent’s critical role in sustaining planetary biodiversity. It will allow for systematic risk assessments, strategic placement of new protected areas, and effective monitoring of global conservation goals.

“The outcomes of the study bring new insights into the variety of Antarctica's terrestrial biodiversity, knowledge essential for its comprehensive conservation,” says Steven Chown, the director of the Australian Research Council’s special research initiative, Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future and a coauthor on the study. 

Why now? The research comes at a pivotal time when advances in geospatial technology and ecological data have made it possible to capture the complexity of Antarctic ecosystems.

“With climate change accelerating and human activity increasing, this framework is essential to prepare us for the consequences of accelerating Antarctic greening,” says Dr Tóth.

The classification and maps are critical foundations to inform and support management and conservation of the Antarctic region through the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty System. This is particularly important as the review of the Protocol approaches. Even though it might seem like a long way into the future (2048), work like this, and the actions that it underpins, are essential in demonstrating how effective the Protocol can be in protecting Antarctica.

“Beyond conservation, the study provides a foundation for future ecological research, enabling comparisons across regions and insights into ecosystem responses to environmental change,” says Dr Tóth.

“It also establishes a common language for researchers and policymakers worldwide, fostering collaboration on preserving Earth’s cryogenic environments.”

The research, published as open access in Scientific Data with the data download freely available from the Australia Antarctic Data Centre, reflects years of collaboration among experts in ecology, remote sensing, and Antarctic science. It sets the stage for developing a Red List of Antarctic Ecosystems to pinpoint the continent’s most threatened habitats and identify strategies to protect them. 

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