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Tundras are among the world's coldest, harshest biomes, with extreme temperatures and low rainfall. But these environments in the Arctic and on mountains are far from invulnerable, displaying sensitivity to human disruptions and climate change.
Home to animals including Arctic foxes, polar bears, gray wolves, caribou, snow geese, and musk oxen, the Arctic tundra is changing in broad and somewhat unpredictable ways as global average temperatures rise. Its underlying base of frozen soil and plant matter, called permafrost, is thawing. That is turning the tundra into a source of greenhouse gas emissions, as soil microbes convert carbon into carbon dioxide and methane. The tundra is also slow to repair itself from physical disturbances such as tire tracks from heavy vehicles.
Climate change. A warmer climate could radically change tundra landscapes and what species are able to live in them. Warming creates potential feedback loopsthat encourage further destabilization of tundra ecosystems. The release of methane from deteriorating permafrost, for example, feeds the thawing cycle, while higher temperatures drive the growth of shrubs, which can change soil temperature and...
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