Tundra and permafrost: a critical look

Tundra and permafrost: a critical look

Introduction to the tundra and the permafrost

The tundra and permafrost represent significant aspects of the global ecosystem that are adapted to the roughest environmental conditions on the planet. Both play a critical role in global climate change and have experienced a degree of change under the human influence that affects not only the ecosystems, but also human society.

What is the tundra?

The tundra, a word from the Finnish word, which means "treeless level", describes an apparently endless and barren landscape without trees and with little vegetation. It can be found in the polar regions of the world and is essentially divided into three types: the Arctic, Alpine and Antarctic Tundra.

The arctic tundra

The Arctic tundra is located near the North Pole and covers large parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland and Scandinavia. The average temperatures fluctuate from -30 degrees Celsius in winter to +10 degrees Celsius in summer. The vegetation mainly consists of mosses, lichen and grasses that are adapted to the extreme climate conditions.

The Alpine tundra

The Alpine Tundra occurs on high -lying mountains of the whole world. Despite the lower latitudes, the conditions are similar to the arctic tundra, with kargem soil, cold temperatures and strong winds. The vegetation here consists of resistant grasses and small bushes.

The Antarctic Tundra

The antarctic tundra unfolds in parts of the Antarctic and on some surrounding islands and is dominated by mosses and lichen, which gratefully use any source of nutrients under extreme conditions.

What is permafrost?

The word "permafrost" comes from English and means "permanent frost". It describes soils that remain frozen for at least two consecutive years.

permafrost areas cover about 24% of the exposure surface of the northern hemisphere and can be found primarily in the Arctic, in parts of the Antarctic and in high mountains. They contain huge amounts of frozen carbon and therefore play a crucial role in the carbon cycle of the earth and in global climate change.

The meaning of tundra and permafrost

The tundra and the permafrost are by no means dead and unimportant landscapes. They play a central role in regulating the global climate and accommodate a variety of animal species, rodents and insects to large mammals such as Caribus, wolves and polar bears.

The permafrost stores huge amounts of carbon, about twice as much as is currently in the atmosphere. When this permafrost thaws, the stored carbon in the form of carbon dioxide and methane is released, two strong greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

thawing permafrost

There is more and more evidence that the permafrost increasingly defrosts due to global warming. This leads to the release of the stored greenhouse gases, which in turn further accelerates global warming.

In addition to the climatic effects, thawing permafrost also leads to significant changes in the landscape. As the US Geological Survey states, the thawing of permafrost in the tundrage areas can lead to earth lowering and collapsing, which endangers the infrastructure, such as roads and buildings. It can also change lakes and rivers and disturb their ecosystems.

effects on the wildlife

The effects of global climate change on the tundra and permafrost are also devastating for the animal species living there. Traditional hiking paths of Caribus and reindeer are disturbed by thawing the permafrost and the changed landscape, which can affect the survival of these animals. The melting ice is also an enormous threat to the polar bear who lives in parts of the tundra.

conclusion: a critical look at the tundra and the permafrost

For many, the tundra and the permafrost are far away and inaccessible places. But they are an integral part of the global ecosystem and play a crucial role in regulating the climate.

The continued climate change and the thawing of permafrost are a serious threat to the planet. Not only are large amounts of greenhouse gases released, which accelerate global warming, but also influence local flora and fauna and represent a significant threat to the traditional way of life of the indigenous population groups.