Antarctica: the vegetation of the past and its climatic implications

On the geological time scale, it was normal for Antarctica to carry a vegetation cover of vascular plants: the present cold desert is an exception to that norm. For much of its history, the Antarctic vegetation differed little from that of contemporary lower latitudes, indicating less steep temperature gradients between equator and pole. The Late Palaeozoic glaciation (about 280 million years ago) profoundly modified but did not eliminate the vegetation, probably as a result of the accessibility of refuge sites. Mesozoic vegetation, dominated by ferns, conifers and cycads, suggests warm temperatures and high equability throughout. The cool-temperate beech forests which replaced this in the late Mesozoic and Tertiary persisted in moist coastal regions until at least 37 million years ago; chilling events at that time must have adversely affected their growth, but the timing of their final demise remains unclear.