A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps
Abstract Antarctica, Earth’s least understood and most remote continent, is threatened by human disturbances and climate-related changes, underscoring the imperative for biodiversity inventories to inform conservation. Antarctic ecosystems support unique species and genetic diversity, deliver essent...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Data |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04424-y |
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| author | Anikó B. Tóth Aleks Terauds Steven L. Chown Kevin A. Hughes Peter Convey Dominic A. Hodgson Don A. Cowan John Gibson Rachel I. Leihy Nicholas J. Murray Sharon A. Robinson Justine D. Shaw Jonathan S. Stark Mark I. Stevens John van den Hoff Jane Wasley David A. Keith |
| author_facet | Anikó B. Tóth Aleks Terauds Steven L. Chown Kevin A. Hughes Peter Convey Dominic A. Hodgson Don A. Cowan John Gibson Rachel I. Leihy Nicholas J. Murray Sharon A. Robinson Justine D. Shaw Jonathan S. Stark Mark I. Stevens John van den Hoff Jane Wasley David A. Keith |
| author_sort | Anikó B. Tóth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Antarctica, Earth’s least understood and most remote continent, is threatened by human disturbances and climate-related changes, underscoring the imperative for biodiversity inventories to inform conservation. Antarctic ecosystems support unique species and genetic diversity, deliver essential ecosystem services and contribute to planetary stability. We present Antarctica’s first comprehensive ecosystem classification and map of ice-free lands, which host most of the continent’s biodiversity. We used latent variables in factor analyses to partition continental-scale abiotic variation, then biotic variation represented in spatial models, and finally recognised regional-scale variation among biogeographic units. This produced a spatially explicit hierarchical classification with nine Major Environment Units (Tier 1), 33 Habitat Complexes (Tier 2) and 269 Bioregional Ecosystem Types (Tier 3) mapped at 100 m resolution and aligned with ‘level 4’ of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology. This comprehensive ecosystem inventory provides foundational data to inform protected area designation under the Antarctic Treaty’s Environmental Protocol and track risks to Antarctic ecosystems. Its tiered structure and workflow accommodate data scarcity and facilitate updates, promoting robustness as knowledge builds. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c7a42e53940c4d5ea8c5cf81c7cc03d2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2052-4463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Data |
| spelling | doaj-art-c7a42e53940c4d5ea8c5cf81c7cc03d22025-01-26T12:14:40ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632025-01-0112111610.1038/s41597-025-04424-yA dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and mapsAnikó B. Tóth0Aleks Terauds1Steven L. Chown2Kevin A. Hughes3Peter Convey4Dominic A. Hodgson5Don A. Cowan6John Gibson7Rachel I. Leihy8Nicholas J. Murray9Sharon A. Robinson10Justine D. Shaw11Jonathan S. Stark12Mark I. Stevens13John van den Hoff14Jane Wasley15David A. Keith16Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South WalesAustralian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterSecuring Antarctica’s Environmental Future, School of Biological Sciences, Monash UniversityBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research CouncilBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research CouncilBritish Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research CouncilCentre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics, Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of PretoriaAustralian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterSecuring Antarctica’s Environmental Future, School of Biological Sciences, Monash UniversityCollege of Science and Engineering, James Cook UniversityEnvironmental Futures, University of WollongongSecuring Antarctica’s Environmental Future, School of Biology and Environmental Science, Queensland University of TechnologyAustralian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterSecuring Antarctica’s Environmental Future, Earth and Biological Sciences, South Australian Museum, North TerraceAustralian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterAustralian Antarctic Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterCentre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South WalesAbstract Antarctica, Earth’s least understood and most remote continent, is threatened by human disturbances and climate-related changes, underscoring the imperative for biodiversity inventories to inform conservation. Antarctic ecosystems support unique species and genetic diversity, deliver essential ecosystem services and contribute to planetary stability. We present Antarctica’s first comprehensive ecosystem classification and map of ice-free lands, which host most of the continent’s biodiversity. We used latent variables in factor analyses to partition continental-scale abiotic variation, then biotic variation represented in spatial models, and finally recognised regional-scale variation among biogeographic units. This produced a spatially explicit hierarchical classification with nine Major Environment Units (Tier 1), 33 Habitat Complexes (Tier 2) and 269 Bioregional Ecosystem Types (Tier 3) mapped at 100 m resolution and aligned with ‘level 4’ of the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology. This comprehensive ecosystem inventory provides foundational data to inform protected area designation under the Antarctic Treaty’s Environmental Protocol and track risks to Antarctic ecosystems. Its tiered structure and workflow accommodate data scarcity and facilitate updates, promoting robustness as knowledge builds.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04424-y |
| spellingShingle | Anikó B. Tóth Aleks Terauds Steven L. Chown Kevin A. Hughes Peter Convey Dominic A. Hodgson Don A. Cowan John Gibson Rachel I. Leihy Nicholas J. Murray Sharon A. Robinson Justine D. Shaw Jonathan S. Stark Mark I. Stevens John van den Hoff Jane Wasley David A. Keith A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps Scientific Data |
| title | A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps |
| title_full | A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps |
| title_fullStr | A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps |
| title_full_unstemmed | A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps |
| title_short | A dataset of Antarctic ecosystems in ice-free lands: classification, descriptions, and maps |
| title_sort | dataset of antarctic ecosystems in ice free lands classification descriptions and maps |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-04424-y |
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