cold environments

• Cold environment


  Regions that experience sustained below freezing (0°C) temperatures, resulting in a short growing season and highly adapted wildlife
• Cold environments


  • Located at high latitudes (surrounding polar regions) that experience less intense sunlight, or at high altitudes (on mountains)
• Types of cold environments

  • Polar
  • Tundra
  • Alpine
• Polar environments

  Areas surrounding the poles (90°N and 90°S), such as Antarctica or Greenland
• Tundra environments

  Areas at high latitudes with low temperatures and short growing seasons, characterised by consistently frozen ground (permafrost)
• Alpine environments

  Cold, mountainous regions with snowy conditions and warmer summers, such as the Himalayas and the Alps
• Only around 4 million people live in the Arctic, and there are no permanent residents of Antarctica
• The way of life in polar environments is heavily influenced by the harsh climate. How people dress, eat and live is all affected by the extremely cold temperatures and lack of biodiversity
• Tundra climates are less extreme than polar environments. Temperatures are usually well below freezing in winter, but may reach above freezing temperatures in the summer months
• Soils in tundra environments are nutrient poor and are frozen permanently (known as permafrost)
• There is greater biodiversity in tundra environments, with more diverse wildlife living on land. There are more plants and developed food chains meaning there are food options for carnivores and herbivores
• Plants in tundra environments are mainly low-growing flowering plants and hardy mosses/grasses. It is generally too cold for trees to grow aside from in the warmest regions where the permafrost is discontinuous
• The climate of cold environments


  Drives the physical processes that take place within these environments
• Different aspects of the cold environment


  Interact with each other and influence each other
• Herbivores are limited in cold environments as there are no plants to eat and the climate is too cold. Carnivores are limited as there are less herbivores to eat
• The cold climate with little precipitation means plant-life cannot be supported. Only highly adapted plants can live in cold environments
• The plants decay slowly due to cold conditions and lack of decomposers. Less organic decay paired with plants of poor nutrient content cause the soils to be nutrient deprived
• There is no reliable food source for humans as it is too cold for agriculture and keeping livestock. Any food is either imported or grown indoors
• It is too cold for humans to survive in cold environments without technology (such as heating) as we are not adapted to cold temperatures. Permafrost is difficult to build on
• It is so cold that the soils are constantly frozen (permafrost), meaning plants cannot penetrate in the soils
• Adaptations of plants and animals in cold environments


  • Thick, insulating fur and layers of fat to keep animals warm
  • Altering behaviour to limit exposure to cold
  • Growing low to the ground and in tightly compact structures
  • Flowering and seeding in short time periods
  • Reducing water loss with thick, waxy leaves and hairy stems
• Fragility of cold environments

  Any small changes within the ecosystem can have large and potentially destructive impacts on the environment
• Reasons why cold environments are fragile

  • Highly adapted ecosystem
  • Slow nutrient cycle
  • Lack of biodiversity
• Cold environments are valuable resources to humans, with opportunities in mining, tourism, fishing and scientific research
• Developments in cold environments have put them under threat, especially because the cold environment ecosystem is so fragile
• Human impacts on cold environments

  • Disruption to plants and animals
  • Ship crashes and oil spills
  • Foreign objects getting into nutrient cycle
  • Food chains disrupted
  • Endangerment of species
  • Sea levels rise causing flooding
  • CO2 released from melting permafrost
  • Environmental damage from construction
  • Invasive species and habitats destroyed
  • Off-road vehicles destroying the ground
  • Disruption to plants and animals through mining
• Oil can stay in the ecosystem for a very long time unless it is cleaned up, which can be very toxic to wildlife
• The image to the left was taken after an oil spill in the Arctic Ocean. The black in the image is oil, not the sea!
• Disruption to plants and animals e.g. trampling and killing plants that are under snow
• Ship crashes and oil spills
• Foreign objects getting into nutrient cycle
• Food chains disrupted
• Endangerment of species
• Sea levels rise causing flooding
• Global Warming
• CO2 released from melting permafrost
• Environmental damage from construction (e.g. building roads can disrupt the environment and displace wildlife)
• Invasive species and habitats destroyed
• Disruption to plants and animals
• Off-road vehicles destroying the ground