The Living World - Polar/Tundra

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How deep is the permafrost?
it can reach 450m deep sometimes
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Where are cold environments found?
High latitudes
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What is the climate like in cold environments?
Cold, windy and with little rain
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What does the soil have a lot of?
Frozen organic material
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Why?
It is too cold for the dead animals in the soil to decompose
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Plant adaptations of the Arctic Poppy
hairy stem to retain heat
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Plant adaptations of the Cotton Grass
small seeds that can be easily dispersed by the wind; thin leaves that reduce water loss by transpiration
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Overall plant adaptations?
low growing and compact so they survive the wind and live under snow; don't grow during winter
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Development Opportunities
mineral extraction; energy; fishing; tourism
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Why has energy caused concerns?
it is about fossil fuels and the pipes that carry these fuels and the heat from the workers' buildings can sometimes melt the permafrost, for example in Alaska.
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Development Challenge: Temperatures
extreme temperatures and long hours of darkness are a challenge to workers
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Development Challenge: Relief
relief (mountains) and rugged terrain of the land could makes areas inaccessible for vehicles carrying construction materials
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Development Challenge: Building
it is very difficult to create foundations for buildings because if the permafrost melts, the ground becomes unstable and there could be landslides
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Development Challenge: Infrastructure
difficult to build due to frozen ground (see 'Building' too)
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Management Strategy: Appropriate Technology
sustainable development and using appropriate technology is important so no wilderness is destroyed
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Management Strategy: Governments
governments should create international agreements about the use of technology (these agreements should state that economic development is good, as long as it does not happen at the expense of the environment – for example the Antarctica Treaty)
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Management Strategy: Conservation Groups
conservation groups can put pressure on governments to support these (some conservation groups believe we should allow no economic development to happen, to ensure that the environment remains pristine)
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Where are cold environments found?

Back

High latitudes

Card 3

Front

What is the climate like in cold environments?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What does the soil have a lot of?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Why?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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