Biodiversity in the Arctic
Because they are the principle areas on Earth to be affected by climate change, Polar Regions, especially the North Pole where the effects are most noticeable, are particularly important to study.
Temperature rise has caused the Arctic pack ice to significantly melt. The thawing is now posing problems both for the local people and for the animals that live in the area.
In the taiga and tundra (the other ecosystems in the Arctic), something else is happening too: the permafrost (ground that remains frozen all year round) is thawing. In the taiga, this melting process is destabilising the conifer forests while, in the tundra, it is releasing huge quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
