UAlberta researcher discovers plants exposed by retreating
glaciers regrowing after centuries entombed under ice.
When Catherine La Farge threads her way through the recently
exposed terrain left behind by retreating glaciers, she looks at the ancient
plant remains a lot closer than most. Now, her careful scrutiny has revealed a
startling reawakening of long-dormant plants known as bryophytes.
La Farge, a researcher in the Faculty of Science, and
director and curator of the Cryptogamic Herbarium at the University of Alberta,
has overturned a long-held assumption that all of the plant remains exposed by
retreating polar glaciers are dead. Previously, any new growth of plants close
to the glacier margin was considered the result of rapid colonization by modern
plants surrounding the glacier.