Antarctica is turning green! Here's what first continent-wide map tells about plant life

The researchers for the first time have created a continent-wide map of Antarctica for studying the rampant changes in its ecosystem and spreading plant life.

Antarctica has always been expected to be all white with huge icebergs, however, what is shocking is the greens emerging from the mini pockets of the ice-covered land.

Amid warming temperatures and climate change, the ice-covered continent is undergoing a major transformation and is likely to now witness the growth of more vegetation.

Also Read: Antarctic temperatures rise 10C above average, experts are calling it a near-record heatwave

The search for green patches in Antarctica was carried out by an international team of scientists, headed by the University of Edinburgh with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the Scottish Association for Marine Science and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, with the help of the satellite data from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Here's what the scientists found in Antarctica

In the study, the scientists detected nearly 45 square kilometres (17.3 square miles) of vegetation and nearly 80 per cent of them were located in the Antarctic Peninsula and neighbouring islands. The green space in Antarctica is only just 0.12 per cent.

“Our continent-scale map provides key information on vegetation presence in areas that are rarely visited by people. This will have profound implications for our understanding of where vegetation is located across the continent, and what factors influence this distribution,” said Charlotte Walshaw, who is a PhD researcher from the University of Edinburgh, in a statement.

The plant life is not able to spread easily in Antarctica's harsh wilderness. But the shifting landscapes and warming temperatures are now making it easier for plant life to spread across the continent.

Only two vascular plants are the continent's native which are Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort. 

Watch: Antarctic faces melting 'tipping point' as oceans warm: Study

In the past, these plants were rare in the ice-dominated continent, but they have now turned common in the last couple of years because of rising temperatures.

Notably, more than 100 plant species invaded Antarctica recently, including common lawn grass, which has spread rapidly across sub-Antarctic Islands and is now moving towards the Antarctic Peninsula.

“Getting an accurate map of the photosynthetic life of the continent gives us a baseline for assessing future change. As the continent warms and ice melts, we expect that areas of rock outcrop will expand, and vegetation will colonize more ground. This new map enables us to monitor these consequences of climate change,” said Peter Fretwell, who is the co-author of the paper and remote sensing expert at BAS. 

(With inputs from agencies)