Flourishing plants show warming Antarctica undergoing ‘major change’

Scientists warn the explosion of native species such as Antarctic hairgrass indicates conditions are ripe for the establishment of invasive species. Photograph: Nicoletta Cannone

Antarctica’s two native flowering plants are spreading rapidly as temperatures warm, according to the first study to show changes in fragile polar ecosystems have accelerated in the past decade.

The increase in plants since 2009 has been greater than the previous 50 years combined, coinciding with rapidly rising air temperatures and a reduction in the number of fur seals, according to researchers working on Signy Island in the South Orkney Islands.