Teachers Notes

L12 Homework task links to lesson objectives of L12 and

also L14.

1
 L11 – Homework: Peer check
Use the link below to make 1 A4 side of notes on Permafrost.
Ensure you answer the following questions in your notes:
1) What is permafrost?
2) Where is it found?
3) What are discontinuous / sporadic and seasonal permafrost?
4) What are the 3 vertical layers in permafrost? Draw or include
a diagram to show these.
5) Outline the impacts of melting permafrost (caused by climate
change) on the carbon balance, the physical environment and
ecological systems. (Make brief notes on the key changes.)

https://www.wunderground.com/climate/permafrost
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 L11 – Homework: Peer check
• What is permafrost?
Permanently frozen soil, sediment or rock. The ground most
remain at or below 0degC for at least 2 years for it to be
classified as permafrost.
• Where is it found?
Mostly in high latitudes, near North and South poles, e.g.
western North America, Siberia, Far East Russia, Antarctica,
Andes. Comprises 24% of the land in the Northern Hemisphere.
• What are discontinuous / sporadic and seasonal permafrost?
Discontinuous / sporadic: in locations where temps only get old
enough in certain areas, e.g. North side of a mountain.
Seasonal: occurs during colder seasons and thaws during
summer.
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 L11 – Homework: Peer check
• What are the 3 vertical layers in
permafrost? Draw or include a
diagram to show these.
Active Layer: top layer of ground,
which is seasonally frozen (i.e.
freezes during the winter, melts
during the summer).
Permafrost: permanently frozen
layer of ground.
Talik: Unfrozen ground that lies
below, or sometimes within, the
permafrost.
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 L11 – Homework: Peer check
• Outline the impacts of melting permafrost (caused by
climate change) on the carbon balance, the physical
environment and ecological systems. (Make brief notes on
the key changes.)
• Carbon stored in permafrost will be released into the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide and methane (causing a
positive feedback effect in climate change).
• Soil erosion (particularly in coastal areas), landslides and
subsidence will become more likely. These will affect
vegetation and infrastructure.
• Migration routes of birds, reindeer and caribou will be
affected.
• Plant species composition of the areas will change (tundra
could be replaced by evergreen forests). 5
Specification reference

6
 31 March 2024

Lesson 12: How have plants and animals

adapted to survive in cold environments?
How is the nutrient cycle in cold environments likely to
be different from that in the rainforest?

7
• Much less precipitation
• Fewer plants and animals can live in this environment,
so less biomass and less litter
• Slower nutrient cycling, due to lower temperatures

8
 Today’s Objectives

• To be able to explain the interdependence between

climate, permafrost, soils, plants, animals and people

• To understand issues relating to biodiversity in cold

environments

• To know how some plants and animals have adapted to

survive in the physical conditions of cold environments

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Climate of Cold Environments - Revision
TASK: Using your knowledge from last lesson and your
homework, make a list of the key features of the climate and
environment of cold environments:
• Cold temperatures
• Strong winds
• Low precipitation
• Weak sunlight
• Dark for many months of the year
Tundra
• Permafrost (permanently frozen ground)
• Poor drainage of soil due to permafrost
Polar:
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• Ground covered with ice throughout the year
Interdependence of biotic and abiotic factors
and biodiversity
TASK: Read through your copy of this table, on your handout.
Tundra Polar
Biomass (the total Quite low. Very low.
quantity or weight of
organisms in a given
area)
Biodiversity (the Quite low. [75 mammals, 240 birds, 3300 insects, 1700 Very low. Very few plants
number of species in flowering plants and shrubs, 600 mosses, 2000 lichens.] and few animals can survive
an area) in this environment.
Decomposition of Relatively slow: decomposers are unable to work fast, Very slow, due to the cold.
organic matter due to the cold.
Soils Frozen in winter; top layer melts in summer. Permanently frozen and
Thin and infertile, because less decomposition of covered by ice.
organic matter.
Soils become waterlogged in summer because melted
water cannot infiltrate downwards due to permafrost.
Low-lying vegetation helps to protect the soil from wind
erosion.

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 Today’s Objectives - Review

• To be able to explain the interdependence between

climate, permafrost, soils, plants, animals and people
(people will be looked for homework)

• To understand issues relating to biodiversity in cold

environments

• To know how some plants and animals have adapted to

survive in the physical conditions of cold environments

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Plant Adaptations - Polar
There is very little plant life in Polar regions.
Soils are permanently frozen and covered by ice making it
almost impossible for plant life to survive.
Some plants such as mosses and lichens are found on the
fringes of the ice.

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Plant adaptations – Tundra
TASK: Fill in the FIRST COLUMN of your table, using the knowledge
you have gained so far.
Feature of Why does this create a problem(s) for the How are plants adapted to this feature of the environment?
Tundra plants living there?
environment
Low precipitation

Strong winds and

cold
temperatures

Weak sunlight
and dark for
many months of
year
Permafrost

Poor drainage

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REVIEW: Plant adaptations – Tundra
Feature of Why does this create a problem(s) for the plants How are plants adapted to this feature of the
Tundra living there? environment?
environment

Low Plants are unable to survive if they do not

precipitation have enough water.
Before you fill in
Creates wind chill effect and increases
Strong winds
and cold moisture loss through transpiration. this box we’ll
temperatures

Weak sunlight Sunlight is weak during long summer days.

watch this clip as
and dark for
many months
During winter months it is dark and plants
are also covered by snow. This makes
an introduction to
of year
photosynthesis difficult. some plant
Permafrost Ground is frozen during winter, which adaptations
prevents plant roots from penetrating deep
into the soil. Also, water is unavailable to
plants when frozen.

Poor drainage During the summer, the active layer (the

top of the soil) melts. Melted water cannot
drain downwards, due to frozen ground
underneath, so the ground becomes
waterlogged.
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REVIEW: Plant adaptations – Tundra
TASK: Now cut out the cards and sort them into the correct row to
complete the second column of the table.
Feature of Why does this create a problem(s) for the How are plants adapted to this feature of the environment?
Tundra plants living there?
environment
Low precipitation Plants are unable to survive if they do
not have enough water.
Strong winds and Creates wind chill effect and increases
cold moisture loss through transpiration.
temperatures
Weak sunlight Sunlight is weak during long summer
and dark for days. During winter months it is dark
many months of and plants are also covered by snow.
year
This makes photosynthesis difficult.
Permafrost Ground is frozen during winter, which
prevents plant roots from penetrating
deep into the soil. Also, water is
unavailable to plants when frozen.
Poor drainage During the summer, the active layer
(the top of the soil) melts. Melted
water cannot drain downwards, due to
frozen ground underneath, so the
ground becomes waterlogged.

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Tundra Plants
Arctic Willow Arctic Poppy

Moss

Lichen
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REVIEW: Plant adaptations – Tundra
Feature of Why does this create a problem(s) for
Tundra the plants living there?
environment
Low Plants are unable to survive if they do
precipitation not have enough water.
Strong winds Creates wind chill effect and increases
and cold moisture loss through transpiration.
temperatures
Weak sunlight Sunlight is weak during long summer
and dark for days. During winter months it is dark
many months and plants are also covered by snow.
of year This makes photosynthesis difficult.
Permafrost Ground is frozen during winter, which
prevents plant roots from penetrating
deep into the soil. Also, water is
unavailable to plants when frozen.
Poor drainage During the summer, the active layer
(the top of the soil) melts. Melted
water cannot drain downwards, due to
frozen ground underneath, so the
ground becomes waterlogged.
How are plants adapted to this feature of the
environment?
- Leaves are small, to limit transpiration.
- Leaves are evergreen, with waxy coating, to minimize
water loss by evapotranspiration.
- Leaves are small, to limit transpiration.
- Plants grow close together and near ground level, e.g. the
Arctic Willow grows no more than 6cm in height. This
allows plants to trap pockets of warmer air between them.
- Leaves are fringed with tiny hairs to capture heat. The
seeds of some plants have woolly covers.
Plants have adapted to maximise photosynthesis during
short growing season. e.g. the Arctic Poppy produces
flowers very quickly, while the snow is still melting and it
turns its head throughout the day to face towards the sun.
Only plants with shallow root systems can survive, e.g.
mosses, lichens, low-growing shrubs, etc. (‘Tundra’ means
‘treeless’ in Finnish)
Hardy organisms, e.g. mosses, grow, which can tolerate the
very wet conditions in summer and very dry conditions in
winter.
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Animal adaptations
TASK: Read through the
table of animal (/bird)
adaptations and fill in the 2
columns with:
• Animal/bird name
• Location it lives in
(Tundra/Polar)

Snowy Owl Caribou

Polar Bear Emperor Penguin 19
REVIEW: Animal Adaptations
Animal/Bird Location Adaptation
Snowy Owl Tundra - Thick coat to protect them from cold temperatures: layer of down
underneath, with larger feathers on top.
- Legs and toes covered in feathers to protect them from cold temperatures.
- White in colour, so they are well camouflaged against the snow.
Caribou Tundra - Thick coat to protect them from cold temperatures.
- Large, wide hooves to enable them to break through ice to find drinking water
during winter months and also to travel over soggy ground during summer.
- Very strong sense of smell, to enable them to find lichens beneath the snow
(which they eat to survive).
- Migrate South during winter, when Northern grasslands become covered in
snow.
Polar Bear Polar - Due to the very limited amount of plant life, they survive by eating seals,
which they find around the northern edges of the Arctic Ocean.
- Have thick fur and an insulating layer of fat to keep them warm in freezing
conditions.
- Is the largest species of bear in the world. Their large size helps them to lose
less heat.
Emperor Polar - Lay their eggs on land and bring up their young before returning to the ocean.
Penguin - Have a layer of blubber (fat) under the skin, to keep them warm.
- Have a layer of down, underneath their feathers, to trap heat against the skin.

- Have black backs and white bellies. This countershading enables them to face
towards or away from the sun to help them to cool down or warm up.

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 Review of Learning: Which animal / plant?
Answer these questions without looking at your notes from today:
Has large, wide Turns its head Is the largest
hooves, which help throughout the day species of its type
it to break through to face towards the in the world (which
the ice sun means that it loses
less heat).

Caribou
Grows no more Arctic
Has Poppy
a very strong Polar Bear
Produces flowers
than 6cm in height sense of smell very quickly, while
the snow is still
melting

Lays its eggs on Is white, to Has legs and toes

Arctic Willow
land Caribou itself
camouflage Arctic Poppy
covered in feathers
against the snow. to help protect it
from cold
temperatures

Snowy Owl
Emperor Penguin Polar Bear Snowy Owl 21
 Homework
Use the 2 resources which will be sent to you on eQE (powerpoint
presentation and pdf file), to create a case study document on the Inuit
people which answers the following questions:
• How is the traditional life of the Inuit people adapted to living in their
harsh environment?
• In particular, how have they adapted to living in the extreme cold?
• How are they interdependent on their environment, including the
climate, plants and animals in the area?
• How has their lifestyle changed since they have come into contact with
Western civilizations?

(n.b. You only need to cover the Inuit people, not the other peoples
which are covered in the pdf.)
Suggested layout: written document, or A3 poster. You may copy and
paste pictures from the attached resources or the internet onto your22
poster, but you must annotate them to explain what they show.