PLANT COMMUNITIES FROM ICE-FREE AREAS OF KELLER PENINSULA, KING GEORGE ISLAND, ANTARCTICA
Keywords:
Antarctic, bryophytes, lichens, ornithocoprophilic, ornithocoprophobous.Abstract
This paper presents a study of plant communities developed in the Keller Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, during the austral summer of 2002/2003. Based on a systematic evaluation, on GPS referencing and on aerial photographic surveys of each plant community, we drew up a map with their distribution, followed by descriptions based mainly on their biodiversity, physiognomy and relationship to bird communities and ground configurations. In the studied area it was possible to differentiate 35 vegetal communities, which had been described being based mainly on the form of growth of the plants of the species most representative.