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These complex interactions between plants, animals and abiotic factors in the tundra are held together by the permafrost layer, located 450 metres (1,480 ft) under the soil. [3] However climate change is causing this crucial layer of frozen soil to melt. As a result, tundra communities are becoming unstable and basic processes are breaking down.
Arctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33’N). [1] This region is characterized by two biomes: taiga (or boreal forest) and tundra. [2]
An environmental gradient, or climate gradient, is a change in abiotic (non-living) factors through space (or time). Environmental gradients can be related to factors such as altitude, depth, temperature, soil humidity and precipitation.
The Arctic is rapidly changing from the climate crisis, with no "new normal," scientists warn.. Wildfires and permafrost thaw are making the tundra emit more carbon than it absorbs. From beaver ...
The amount of vegetation in the tundra consists on how much sun, or snow cover is in the area. The vegetation in this area may grow as tall as 50 cm (20 in). In the southern part of the Arctic, there tend to be more shrubs whereas the northern parts there is less plant cover. In wet areas of the tundra, there is tussock grasses and cotton grasses.
The International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) is a long-term international collaboration of researchers examining the responses of arctic and alpine plants and ecosystems to climate change. [1] Researchers measure plant responses to standardized, small-scale passive warming, snow manipulations, and nutrient additions.
It differs from most other hypotheses in not postulating an upper limit to species richness set by various abiotic and biotic factors, i.e., it is a nonequilibrium hypothesis assuming a largely non-saturated niche space. It does accept that many other factors may play a role in causing latitudinal gradients in species richness as well.
Furthermore, climate change may disrupt the ecology among interacting species, via changes on behaviour and phenology, or via climate niche mismatch. [9] The disruption of species-species associations is a potential consequence of climate-driven movements of each individual species in opposite directions.