The "Martian" flora: new collections of vascular plants, lichens, fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria from the Mars Desert Research Station, Utah

Paul Sokoloff,Paul Hamilton,Jeffery Saarela,Colin Freebury

doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e8176

Abstract

The Mars Desert Research Station is a Mars analog research site located in the desert outside of Hanksville, Utah, U.S.A. Here we present a preliminary checklist of the vascular plant and lichen flora for the station, based on collections made primarily during a two-week simulated Mars mission in November, 2014. Additionally, we present notes on the endolithic chlorophytes and cyanobacteria, and the identification of a fungal genus also based on these collections. Altogether, we recorded 38 vascular plant species from 14 families, 13 lichen species from seven families, six algae taxa including both chlorophytes and cyanobacteria, and one fungal genus from the station and surrounding area. We discuss this floristic diversity in the context of the ecology of the nearby San Rafael Swell and the desert areas of Wayne and Emery counties in southeastern Utah.

Highlights

The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is a Mars analog research site located in the desert approximately 9 km outside of Hanksville, in Wayne County, Utah, U.S.A. at 38°24'23.12"N, 110°47'30.94"W (Figs 1, 2)
In the deserts surrounding MDRS and throughout the southwestern United States of America, the diversity and distribution of vascular plants, lichens, fungi, algae and cyanobacteria are dependent on various factors, including underlying geology (Schenk et al 2003), the availability of water (Ehleringer et al 1991) and nutrients (Schlesinger et al 1996), and the presence of other biological organisms, including vascular plant (Schlesinger and Pilmanis 1998) and soil crust communities (Harper and Belnap 2001)
The taxonomic groups treated in this study all possess various adaptations to life in this harsh desert environment, including thick, moisture retaining cell walls (Holzinger and Karsten 2013) and an endolithic habit (Thielen and Garbary 1999) in algae and cyanobacteria, resistance to UV radiation and dessication in lichens, and C4 carbon fixation in vascular plants (Mulroy and Rundel 1977)

Summary

Introduction

The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) (http://mdrs.marssociety.org/) is a Mars analog research site located in the desert approximately 9 km outside of Hanksville, in Wayne County, Utah, U.S.A. at 38°24'23.12"N, 110°47'30.94"W (Figs 1, 2). During their studies, astrobiologists, soil specialists, geologists and other scientists working at MDRS frequently come across, or seek out, vascular plants, lichens, algae, cyanobacteria, and fungi while conducting field research. The cool deserts of southeastern Utah, where MDRS is located, possess diverse vascular plant (Andersen 1996) and biological soil crust communities (Belnap 2002) The distribution of these communities is determined primarily by the underlying geology, elevation, and moisture, all of which vary across the deserts of the region (Coles et al 2009). The closest and best studied flora near MDRS is that of the San Rafael Swell, approximately 23 km northwest of the station. Harris (1983) compiled a vascular plant inventory, including 478 species, for this large geological feature that dominates southeastern Utah

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion