Description

The tundra, a land of ice and snow that is known through television documentaries and adventure novels, remains a mystery to the vast majority of people. The tundra regions of the world have the lowest density of human populations, with the possible exception of some deserts. It is the one biome that has resisted most attempts at agricultural exploitation and human settlement. It is therefore not surprising that many misconceptions about this ecosystem exist.Tundra provides students with a detailed account of the physical aspects, such as climate, geology, and geography, and the biological aspects, including the adaptations of organisms to extreme conditions, of a tundra environment. The possible consequences of environmental change and increasing pollution in this remote and wild biome are addressed in order to appreciate the problems facing the tundra. Diagrams, full-color photographs and illustrations, and explanatory sidebars shed light on this vital ecosystem.