Geography Cold environments

• Fragile environment


  An environment that is both easily disturbed and difficult to restore if disturbed. Plant communities in fragile areas have evolved in highly specialised ways to deal with challenging conditions. As a result, they cannot tolerate environmental changes
• Infrastructure


  The basic equipment and structures (such as roads, utilities, water supply and sewage) that are needed for a country or region to function
• Permafrost


  Permanently frozen ground, found in polar and tundra regions
• Polar


  The regions of Earth surrounding the North and South Poles. These regions are dominated by Earth's polar ice caps, the northern resting on the Arctic Ocean and the southern on the continent of Antarctica
• Tundra


  The flat, treeless Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America, where the ground is permanently frozen. Lichen, moss, grasses and dwarf shrubs can grow here
• Wilderness area


  A natural environment that has not been significantly modified by human activity. Wilderness areas are the most intact, undisturbed areas left on Earth - places that humans do not control and have not developed