Abstract
AbstractThe small ice-free areas of Antarctica provide an essential habitat for most evident terrestrial biodiversity, as well as being disproportionately targeted by human activity. Visual detection of disturbance within these environments has become a useful tool for measuring areas affected by human impact, but questions remain as to what environmental consequences such disturbance actually has. To answer such questions, several factors must be considered, including the climate and biotic and abiotic characteristics. Although a body of research has established the consequences of disturbance at given locations, this paper was conceived in order to assess whether their findings could be generalized as a statement across the Antarctic continent. From a review of 31 studies within the Maritime Antarctic, Continental Antarctic and McMurdo Dry Valleys regions, we found that 83% confirmed impacts in areas of visible disturbance. Disturbance was found to modify the physical environment, consequently reducing habitat suitability as well as directly damaging biota. Visible disturbance was also associated with hydrocarbon and heavy metal contamination and non-native species establishment, reflecting the pressures from human activity in these sites. The results add significance to existing footprint measurements based on visual analysis, should aid on-the-ground appreciation of probable impacts in sites of disturbance and benefit environmental assessment processes.
Highlights
The extent of the human disturbance footprint for the entire Antarctic continent has recently been calculated (Brooks et al 2019)
Visible disturbance to ice-free ground has an inherent impact on the wilderness and aesthetic values of Antarctica, protected through its designation as a natural reserve by the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Antarctic Treaty Secretariat 1991)
Can visible disturbance generally be associated with further impacts on physical and ecological processes across the continent? This work examines the sequential step to these footprint measurements, as we approach this question in two ways
Summary
The extent of the human disturbance footprint for the entire Antarctic continent has recently been calculated (Brooks et al 2019). The second is a quasi-meta-analysis, in which we assess whether the existing literature investigating impacts in sites of disturbance is sufficient to be generalized across the ice-free areas of Antarctica, divided into three major regions: the Maritime Antarctic, Continental Antarctic and the McMurdo Dry Valleys (see the 'Regionalization' section for a more detailed explanation). In addressing this question, we deliver a mechanistic model of disturbance processes that lead to impacts (Fig. 1), which can be applied across Antarctica
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