Jan 21 09:45 PM US/Eastern
TOKYO, Jan. 22 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Researchers said Friday they have found at the summit of Mt. Fuji grass and other seed plants that used to be unable to grow there, probably because the permafrost at Japan's tallest peak is ebbing due to rising temperatures.
The 3,776-meter summit could only grow moss about 20 years ago, but Takehiro Masuzawa, a Shizuoka University professor on plant physiological ecology, and his team recently found plants usually seen at an altitude of about 2,500 meters growing there.
Permafrost at Mt. Fuji was found at an altitude of around 3,100 meters at the lowest in 1976 and at around 3,200 meters in 1998, but the team found its edge further went up and was even partially lost around the summit in 2009.
With low temperatures, strong winds and ultraviolet light as well as soil lacking water and nutrients, the mountaintop environment has been thought to be too harsh to allow the growth of seed plants.
Masuzawa's team will report their findings on Sunday at the University of Tokyo.
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