Low-growing tundra vegetation displays fall colors in California's Kings Canyon National Park. Alpine tundras exist worldwide at altitudes above the mountain tree line. The relatively few species ...

And Myers-Smith, now a PhD-holding ecologist, National Geographic Explorer ... At the warm edge of the tundra biome, patches like these at the tops of mountains are slowly shrinking as trees ...

Tundras are among the world's coldest, harshest biomes, with extreme temperatures and low rainfall. But these environments in the Arctic and on mountains are far from invulnerable, displaying ...

Tundra ecosystems ... across the tundra biome and are often dominant, owing to their canopy height, longevity and ability to outcompete low-growing plants. With wide geographic distributions ...

In addition to producing Arctic temperatures that cracked 100 degrees in June, the heat has fueled an enormous outbreak of wildfires, including fires on tundra underpinned by permafrost—normally ...