Land
Due to the cold weather it is hard for plants to grow. Frozen ground covers most of the polar regions for the majority of the year. Permafrost reaches a thickness of 600-1000m deep. Large amounts of permafrost can lead to poor water drainage. Due to the permafrost the water in the soil remains frozen for most of the year. In the summer the top of the permafrost may be covered with water due to melting in the area (Stonehouse, 69). Weathering is also common in polar regions. There is rubble from rocks that are scattered on the land due to movement of glaciers. Also due to quick temperature change causes weathering.
The main type of soil in the polar regions is Ahumic soil. This includes the cold desert soil. This soil consists of sand that is frozen. These soils tend to not have a lot of vegetation. In this soil there is bacteria that have been found.
The other type of soil is organic soil. This type of soil is found in areas that are warmer and have more moisture. Some vegetation that live here are algae, fungi and mosses. One type of organic soil is the brown soils. These soils have drainage.
Read more about this topic: Polar Ecology
Famous quotes containing the word land:
“That is the land of lost content
I see it shining plain,
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.”
—A.E. (Alfred Edward)
“The land of shadows wilt thou trace
And look nor know each other’s face
The present mixed with reasons gone
And past and present all as one
Say maiden can thy life be led
To join the living with the dead
Then trace thy footsteps on with me
We’re wed to one eternity”
—John Clare (1793–1864)
““The glacier knocks in the cupboard,
The desert sighs in the bed,
And the crack in the tea-cup opens
A lane to the land of the dead.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)