Current Human Impacts

Source: http://www.thestyleking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Eskimo-Family3.jpg

Direct human impact has affected the Alaskan Tundra somewhat, but the biome is relatively still intact. Human population in this area is low; only 14% of Alaska’s population lives in areas containing permafrost, the main characteristic of a tundra biome (Alaska, EPA). This means the direct impact of humans that has affected so many other biomes is to a lesser extent in the tundra. Also, many inhabitants of this biome are indigenous people who have gained knowledge of the environment and relationships with resources over thousands of years. As a result, these natives don’t impact the environment as much as people who would develop the area to a more contemporary degree. The extremely cold and harsh environment makes living in the tundra unfavorable so human development is not thriving. Along with the cold weather and lack of vegetation, building on permafrost is difficult. Buildings constructed on permafrost are known to collapse due to pressure and heat from the overlying building causing the permafrost underneath to melt (Tundra and Permafrost, Ice Stories).

Source: http://www.akaction.org/Images/Mining_Images/Two-Bull-Ridge-Mine_GroundTruthTrekking.jpg

Rather than human development, the main impact on the tundra is extensive mining and the roads that are built to access the resources. Mining is a sizable portion of Alaska’s economy due to the fact that Alaska contains high demand minerals such as zinc, lead, copper, gold, silver and coal (Alaska’s Mining Background). In addition to the mines built to extract the resources, the roads accompanying these mines are a threat to animal migration movements and may result in the ruin of tundra habitats, and “recovery from roads, construction sites, and even human trails requires as many as 25-50 years” (Beringia Upland Tundra). Another threat is oil and gas development. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to about 6 months supply of oil and conservative politicians keep the threat of drilling here alive, even though it would have huge environmental affects (The Tundra Biome).