Airborne fungi in Longyearbyen area (Svalbard, Norway) — case study

Studies on the presence of atmospheric fungi in both Arctic and Antarctic polar areas are rare, and many of them were carried out briefly. Currently, when climate change is a fact, polar areas may be subject to various changes and fluctuations, negatively affecting sensitive polar ecosystems. The paper presents the results of tests on presence of fungi in the air over 30 years after the last investigations at the Svalbard Archipelago. A total of fifteen taxa of fungi were isolated in area of Longyearbyen, the majority of which were saprotrophic fungi of the genus Cladosporium that are associated with dead organic matter. Therefore, the presence of this taxon may be a good bioindicator of changes occurring in the Arctic environment, indirectly indicating the melting of glaciers and exposing increasingly larger areas inhabited by microorganisms, including fungi, which increase in number in the air. Additionally, the number of tourists visiting Longyearbyen is increasing, which may significantly affect the number and type of fungi in the air.

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Polar Ecosystems: Current Situation and Future Challenges Under Climate Change

The polar regions had long been regarded as healthy ecosystems free of any hazardous traces left by human activity. Unfortunately, since the intensification of industrial activities leading to huge releases into environment, anthropogenic pollutants through global atmospheric and ocean currents were found with more or less high concentrations in all polar ecosystem compartments. Among these pollutants, one of the most dangerous categories is persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Since polar ecosystems are fragile and have a limited capacity for resilience, their contamination can generate unforeseeable consequences that can affect global cycles. Our work aims to compile data collected through a review of studies carried out within the framework of POPs evolution in polar regions, and then to compare them in order to identify future improvements to be made within the framework of POPs monitoring in the Arctic and Antarctic. According to our observations, POPs concentrations in all ecosystem compartments in Arctic are much higher than in Antarctica. Moreover, global warming influencing the abiotic factors of diffusion and mobility of POPs has led to a massive revolatization of POPs in the Arctic as well as an increase in their concentrations in large mammals. We also noted a lack of availability of consistent and continuous long-term data in Antarctic, which is why an ambiguity persists in the understanding of the POPs contamination routes, their evolution as well as the application of projection models.