The data consists of proxy data with associated ages from six moss bank cores from four locations on the Antarctic Peninsula. Proxies included are: 13C, microbial productivity (derived from testate amoeba concentration values), mass accumulation rate and moss growth rate. Sites are Elephant Island (core ELE3), Ardley Island (cores ARD1 and ARD3) and Green Island (cores GRE1 and GRE2). Elephant Island (61.111 S, 54.824 W) and Ardley Island (62.213 S, 58.935 W) cores were collected in January 2012. Green Island (65.322 S, 64.151 W) cores were collected in January 2013. Funding was provided by the NERC grants NE/H014896/1, NE/H014632/1 and NE/H014810/1.

Nematode species were extracted from two species of bryophyte (Cephaloziella varians and Sanionia uncinata) in a vegetated gully on Rothera Point, Adelaide Island. Nematode species were extracted from 10 fixed plots: five control plots, and five warmed plots (covered with open top chambers for the duration of the experiment). Sampling occurred over eight days between 2007 and 2010. The total number of nematodes in each sample, along with the numbers of males, females and juveniles of each species, were recorded and expressed per gram dry weight of bryophyte colony. The numbers of gravid females of Plectus belgicae, along with the total number of eggs in gravid females, were also recorded at four of the samplings.

This database contains information on the herbarium specimens held in the herbarium of the British Antarctic Survey (international code AAS) as well as information about specimens collected in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic and held in other world herbaria. There are over 70 000 records, predominantly of mosses and lichens, but also of vascular plants, ferns, fungi and algae collected in Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions as well as some from surrounding continents, particularly South America. The collection from South Georgia And The South Sandwich Islands started in 1775 and from Antarctica in 1834. Documents relating to the Herbarium are kept in the BAS Archives (LS2/4). The records can be searched and downloaded on: http://apex.nerc-bas.ac.uk/f?p=148:1. There is also a facility to see a distribution map of specimens retrieved by querying the database.

To identify and quantify soil N species over a full growth season, small volumes of soil were removed from each sampling site 5 times during the field season and extracted in the laboratory. Bare soil at higher elevations, namely Observation Bluff, Factory Bluffs, Jane Col and lower parts of Spindrift Col; Soils from below mosses on the Backslope and on Moss Braes. Soils from below higher plant species at Bernsten Point, Factory Bluffs, Moss Braes and North Point. Orthinogenic soils from around penguin colonies at Gourlay peninsula, Spindrift rocks and North Point and disturbed soil from around Signy Base were collected.

Three plant species, the leafy liverwort Cephaloziella varians and the angiosperms Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis, were sampled from 12 islands across a 1480 km latitudinal gradient from South Georgia through to Adelaide Island. Samples were collected to determine the abundance of dark septate fungi in Antarctic plant and soil communities and the effects of these organisms on plant growth. Where the target species were found in sufficient numbers to allow sampling, it proved possible to collect at least 10 samples of each species. At least 10 soil samples were collected from each site where Deschampsia was found. Plants, with intact roots and soil, were transported back to the UK using cool and frozen stowage. Additionally, intact live plants were transported to the UK in an illuminated cabinet. Seeds of the two key species (Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis) were also collected at Bird Island and South Georgia. As the exact months of the data collection were not provided, and the metadata standard requires a YYYY-MM-DD format, this dataset has been dated as 1st January for start date, and 31st December for stop date.

Automatic data loggers are often used to monitor environmental variables such as temperature (of air and soil), humidity, wind speed and radiation in microclimates where experimental or ecological studies are being carried out. Some loggers are only in operation for a few weeks or months while others have been run for several years. Loggers have been sited in a wide variety of locations from the sub-Antarctic (South Georgia), South Orkney Islands (Signy) various Peninsula sites (as far south as Alexander Island - 70S), and some continental localities (e.g. Victoria Land). These form an important data resource to the climate conditions experienced by Antarctic terrestrial organisms. Various types of logger are used. Sensors tend to be deployed at or near ground level and in and around particular types of vegetation, or other experimental sites, such as cloches. Loggers used include Grant, Delta-T, Campbell and Squirrels. Victoria Land data for Kay Island and Edmonson Point in 1995 and 1996 was collected under the BIOTEX 1 experiment of the SCAR BIOTAS (Biological Investigations of Terrestrial Antarctic Systems) Programme. An overview of BIOTEX is available as a PDF file.

This study investigated the status of dark septate (DS) fungi in Antarctic plant and soil communities, with the aim of determining the abundance of DS fungi in plant roots and rhizoids, their taxonomic affinities and their symbiotic status. Abundances of fungal hyphae were recorded in roots and rhizoids, and fungi were isolated and identified. Sequencing of ITS (internal transcribed spacer) regions of rDNA indicated that some isolates share taxonomic affinities with fungi of known symbiotic status. Synthesis experiments assessed the effects of DS fungal isolates, including H. ericae, on the growth and nutrient balance of their host plants. Seeds of Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis were collected for use in ecophysiological experiments.