Oliver Bartlett

replying to S. Bokhorst et al. Nature Geoscience https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02076-0 (2026) Bokhorst et al.’s Matters Arising paper1 continues an important conversation around how vegetation change is detected and interpreted in data-sparse and logistically challenging regions such as Antarctica.

Abstract The Antarctic Peninsula has experienced considerable anthropogenic warming in recent decades. While cryospheric responses are well defined, the responses of moss-dominated terrestrial ecosystems have not been quantified. Analysis of Landsat archives (1986–2021) using a Google Earth Engine cloud-processing workflow suggest widespread greening across the Antarctic Peninsula.