Cold Environments Flashcards
Where are polar regions located?
They are located at the poles within the Arctic and Antarctic circle.
What is the climate like in polar regions?
The winter temperatures average at -20 degrees C.
Precipitation almost never exceeds 100mm per year.
What is the vegetation like in the polar region?
Only highly adapted vegetation can grow, e.g. moss and lichen.
Plants rarely and slowly decompose as there are a lack of decomposers.
Where are alpine regions located?
Alpine regions are found in areas with low temperatures and high altitudes. This includes mountainous regions and areas above the treeline.
What is the climate like in alpine regions?
Temperatures fluctuate annually, the summers are warmer and usually above 0 degrees.
What is the vegetation like in the polar region?
Vegetation thrives during the summers and usually died in the winter.
Vegetation grows and decomposes at a faster rate than in a polar climate. This is because of the better soil fertility and climate.
Where are periglacial regions located?
Located on the edge of colder environments.
They are mostly found at high latitudes within the northern hemispheres.
What is the climate like in periglacial regions?
There’s low precipitation during the summer months.
Temperatures are always below freezing.
What is the vegetation like in the periglacial regions?
Only highly adapted plants survive.
The slow nutrient cycle leads to less plants which in turn leads to infertile soil. Plans are unable to infiltrate frozen soil.
