Question

State the effect of permafrost on the vegetation of the Tundra region.

Answer 1

Permafrost, a permanently frozen layer beneath a thin summer “active” layer, prevents deep root penetration and keeps soils cold and often waterlogged (meltwater ponds at the surface), which shortens the growing season and limits nutrient availability; consequently, tundra vegetation is scanty and low-growing, dominated by mosses, lichens, sedges and dwarf shrubs, and trees are essentially absent.