Cold Environments

• Alpine regions are cold, mountainous regions with snowy conditions and warmer summers.
• Biodiversity is a large variety of animal and plant life living in the same ecosystem.
• Climate is the long term weather conditions of an area.
• A cold environment is a region of the Earth that experiences sustained below freezing temperatures.
• Environmental fragility is the concept of an ecosystem being so sensitive to change that even small changes within the environment can have large and potentially destructive impacts.
• Interdependence is the concept of multiple things depending on each other for survival.
• Permafrost is ground that is permanently frozen for at least two consecutive years.
• Polar regions are areas surrounding the poles (90°N and 90°S).
• Soil is the upper layer of the Earth which is composed of organic matter and other materials.
• Tundra regions are areas at high latitudes, characterised by permafrost, low temperatures and short growing seasons.
• Wilderness is an area that is untouched by humans, and therefore remains unaffected by human activity.