More than ice and snow, the tundra is a diverse biome playing an essential role for the planet. Now, it’s thawing fast — and that’s a problem.
Even the coldest (and seemingly uninhabitable) places on our FROZEN PLANET support life. The tundra is a great example of this — nearly 2,000 species of plants and over 50 species of animals compose the BIODIVERSITY of tundra ecosystems, one of Earth’s real-life winter wonderlands. Here’s what you need to know about this frigid paradise — which is rapidly unfreezing before our eyes.
The Tundra, Explained
- The tundra is one of the coldest environments on the planet — the average temperature is -34 degrees Celsius (-30 degrees Fahrenheit) — and receives less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rainfall a year.
- There are two types of tundra: Arctic and Alpine. The Arctic tundra can be found in the northern hemisphere, in the North Pole. Alpine tundras are located worldwide at frosty mountain peaks.
- Low to the ground plants, like sedges, forbs and shrubs, thrive in this frigid environment. It’s rare to find a tree in the tundra — the cold, dry environment and brief summer are not favorable for their survival.
- Arctic foxes, hares, lemmings, polar bears, and wolves live in the tundra year round — sharing their home every summer with the migratory birds (falcons, loons, sandpipers, and more) that visit each year.
- Because it’s covered in snow and ice for most of the year, the tundra acts as a key temperature regulator, reflecting light back into space and cooling the planet.
- Permafrost covers both the ground and the plants in the tundra, only defrosting for about six to ten weeks in the summer. The name “permafrost” literally means “permanent frost.”
Permafrost’s Rapid Thaw
The tundra has been increasing in temperature by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) each decade since 1970. Tundra temperatures have risen four times faster than other environments. This is melting the permafrost, which has already caused devastating consequences.
As permafrost melts from climate change, the ecosystem is altered — plants struggle to take root and even craters have formed from the newly unstable terrain. Permafrost melt will not just impact the tundra — it will have far-reaching consequences such as the release of dormant viruses and pollutants, as well as increasing floods within formerly icy regions.
Turn Down the Heat — Before It’s Too Late
Iconic Arctic animals, like the Arctic fox and the polar bear, are already labeled as threatened –- and many more face graver threats because of human actions in this region, particularly as it relates to the oil, gas and mining industries interested in Arctic lands. Conservationists are advocating against drilling in places like Alaska, to preserve our planet’s precious tundra ecosystem for generations to come.
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