Soil Formation

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  • Created by: imogen11
  • Created on: 06-06-14 08:47

Arctic tundra is often underlain by permafrost-permanlty frozen fround. When summer tempretures reach above 0 degrees the surface soil above the permafrost knows as the active layer starts to thaw. The active layer is the basis of life in the Arctic tundra as vegetation can thrive here in the short growing season. However it is usually just 50cm deep or less which only permits shallow root systems.

The active layer is typically water logged as little evapotraspiration occurs in the low summer tempretures and the underlying permafrost is impermable. Arcitic tundra regions therefore…

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