Arctic Tundra Plants
Despite appearing barren of life, the Arctic Tundra has about 1,700 different types of plants, all adapted to living on hardly anything, such as foliose lichen, which has adapted to grow on solid rock. Many others grow on the ice, and as they decay, soil is slowly but surely forming, and in about a million years, there will be a visible layer of dirt.
At this moment, however, there's only enough to support some life, such as low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, grasses, 400 varieties of flowers, crustose and foliose lichen.
During the summer, plants take in sunlight, and perform photosynthesis, perfect models of autotrophs. During the winter, however, it is far too cold to decompose properly, and instead, the organic biomass gets trapped in the permafrost and can get stuck for thousands of years. This is one of the biggest ways the Arctic tundra traps carbon dioxide.
At this moment, however, there's only enough to support some life, such as low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, grasses, 400 varieties of flowers, crustose and foliose lichen.
During the summer, plants take in sunlight, and perform photosynthesis, perfect models of autotrophs. During the winter, however, it is far too cold to decompose properly, and instead, the organic biomass gets trapped in the permafrost and can get stuck for thousands of years. This is one of the biggest ways the Arctic tundra traps carbon dioxide.