Artic tundra

• Cycles change seasonally and are altered by climate change
• Permafrost contains 1600gt carbon which is 5x more than stored above ground
• Carbon stored as decomposed matter which has been stored for over 500000 years
• Npp slightly high in summer reaching 200g m2 per year
• Biomass between 4-29 tonnes per hectare
• Seasonal change creates a more active water cycle in summer
• Impermeable permafrost reduced infiltration and groundwater
• Low temps lead to low humidity and low convectional

  rainfall
• Erosion and weathering creates gentle relief leading to waterlogging
• Low temp and rainfall

  limits plant growth and photosynthesis
• Short growing period but has longer days
• Very few nutrients and carbon in rocks
• Lo temps and waterlogging limits decomposition reducing speed of flows
• 40 mn tonnes of co2 lost from north shore annually
• Industry has more localised effect than climate change
• gas discovered in prudhoe bay in 1968
• Melting of permafrost due to removal of vegetation dust from roads and construction ans operation of oil and gas instalation
• Mining of aggreagates creates artificial lakes
• Drainage disrupted by rods and minign
• Industrialisation destroys vegetation and thaws soil and takes years to recover from
• Insulated ice and gravel pads prevent permafrost from melting due to roads
• Elevated buildings and pipes allow cold air to circulate under structures reducing meltinf
• Computers that remotelt detect oil reduce exploratitative wells
• Refrigerated supports maintain temperature and thus permafrost
• Higher temps melt permafrost increasing co2 and ch4 but increased plant growth may offset this
• Low precipitation in the tundra of 50 - 350 Mm per year
• Permafrost containd 1600gt carbon 5 x more than in biomass