Alpine and Arctic environments. Both are very cold and treeless, can share the same environments and yet by dictionary definition both are quite distinct from each other. Alpine environments are defined as “of or relating to high mountains.” Arctic environments are defined as “of or relating to the regions around the North Pole.” Both, according to Barry and Ives (1974), are often described as tundra. This can cause communication problems when discussing similar environments, particularly the mountainous regions of subalpine areas and the hilly regions of subarctic regions. It will be easiest to compare and contrast the similarities and differences between subarctic, arctic, subalpine, and alpine environments, and where these environments can …show more content…
Subarctic and subalpine environments are not simply half way between being a tundra like environment and being not a tundra like environment. They are found on the edges of arctic and alpine environments, and share a majority of the required traits to define them as such, but there are a few discrepancies in what should include them (Barry and Ives, 1974). There are semantic problems when addressing the definitions of subarctic and subalpine environments, as the prefix “sub” often detonates in common usage below or next to, as in the word subsurface. While this is one usage, there is also a reference to these environments as if they are indeed a part of the whole environment (Barry and Ives, …show more content…
Neither distance nor isolation from direct human activity are enough to keep environments from the stress of human activity due to increasing population as warned of by Price (1986). Ives (1997) describes similar issues, with subalpine and alpine environments degrading from stress on natural resources from both an increasing population and unstainable practices in the French Alps and parts of Nepal. The Arctic is at risk of losing parts of its permafrost permanently until the next glacial cycle (Barry and Ives, 1974). This change would shrink the existing area that we recognize as “arctic.” On the other hand, if glaciers were to melt in Alpine environments, the area would still be Alpine by definition, as they are still treeless mountainous regions with evidence of glacial erosion. The impacts of melted glaciers is no trivial matter