Predicted Patterns of Photosynthetic Production in Maritime Antarctic Mosses

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Abstract
The microclimate of a moss turf of Polytrichum alpestre Hoppe and a moss carpet of Drepanocladus uncinatus (Hedw.) Warnst. is described for two sites in the maritime Antarctic. These micro-climatic data, together with some additional data, are then used in the solution of multiple regression equations describing net photosynthetic response to variation in radiant flux density and temperature as measured in Antarctic material of the two mosses grown under controlled conditions in the U.K. Predictions are made of daily and seasonal courses of net photosynthesis at the Antarctic field site. The basis of acclimation of net photosynthesis to growth temperatures through a season is discussed and the physiological basis of growth under snow is examined.