ScienceDaily: Vast areas on the Northern Hemisphere are covered by tundra. Here, dwarf shrubs, sedges, mosses etc. thrive on top of permafrost in areas where only the uppermost soil layer thaws during the short Arctic summer.
New studies show that the tundra may become a source of CO2 in the future. Researcher Magnus Lund from Aarhus University explains:
"The soil below the tundra contains very large quantities of carbon -- more than twice as much as is present in the planet's entire atmosphere. Therefore,...