When we consider land on Earth, we generally associate it with forests, greenery and trees. However, there is one particular place on Earth where this is not the case. The place is Greenland. This is because despite being the largest island in the world, there is no presence of trees or forests on this island. At first glance this may seem surprising and unusual. However, there are some reasons behind this and all these reasons are related to the climate and geographical conditions of that place.The place is generally covered with snow, and the temperature is extremely low. These conditions do not allow most types of plants, especially trees, to flourish. However, a unique ecosystem exists there.

Protects from extreme cold and low heat tree growth in greenland

One of the biggest factors contributing to the lack of trees in Greenland is climate. The climate of Greenland is such that most of the island remains quite cold throughout the year. This means that winters are long and summers are short here.For trees to grow, they need a certain amount of heat. However, summers are too cool for trees to grow in Greenland. The short summer also does not give trees enough time to grow.

Snow cover and unstable land boundary vegetation

A large part of the area is covered with snow. Only a small part remains without snow cover. Even if snow is melting in some areas, it is not suitable for vegetation.according to National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)About 80% of Greenland’s surface is covered with ice sheets, which greatly limits the land available for plant growth.Soil conditions remain harsh in many areas. Therefore, forests cannot flourish. Without proper soil conditions, it is difficult for trees to take root.

Permafrost restricts root growth

Another major reason for this is the presence of permafrost, which means the soil remains frozen for most of the year. This frozen soil does not allow water to flow properly and does not allow the roots to penetrate deep into the soil. This is the reason why only small plants like moss, lichen and bushes are able to grow here. Trees cannot grow here because they need deep and strong roots.

Limited tree growth and changing climate in southern areas

Although much of Greenland is treeless, there are some places where there are trees. Small trees such as birch and willow are found in small numbers in southern Greenland. There is a small natural forest in the Qianhua Valley, which is a little more conducive to the growth of trees.Climate change has begun to impact the land in Greenland in recent years. Rising temperatures and melting ice are opening up new opportunities in Greenland. In some areas greater growth is being observed in the case of shrubs, and experiments in the growth of trees are proving successful.

A unique ecosystem created by extreme conditions

Despite the lack of trees, there is life in Greenland. Greenland’s ecosystem consists of plants that have adapted to survive the extreme conditions of the environment.The lack of trees in Greenland’s ecosystem reflects the impact of climate on the environment. This shows that a place’s ecosystem does not necessarily have to contain trees, as demonstrated by the ecosystem of Greenland. It depicts Greenland’s environment as a reflection of nature’s ability to survive.

New Delhi: The Employees’ Provident Fund Organization is focusing on helping customers withdraw unclaimed money lying in dormant accounts.Nearly a quarter of inactive accounts, which are Aadhaar verified, may soon be freed from inactive balance as EPFO ​​is working on developing an auto-settlement feature that will allow account holders to get unclaimed money in their bank accounts without filing a claim, an official told TOI. The facility is set to deal with about 8.1 lakh Aadhaar verified inactive accounts amounting to Rs 5,200 crore, of which about 14,000 have more than Rs 5 lakh lying unclaimed. Another 38,000 Aadhaar-verified dormant accounts have Rs 1-5 lakh lying unclaimed, and 41,000 accounts have between Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh. “In the last meeting, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) had approved automatic settlement of such inoperative accounts with unclaimed balance of Rs 1,000 or less into registered bank accounts. Based on the learning from this project, a separate initiative has been planned to formulate a strategy for other accounts. Preference will be given to members joining after October 2017,” the official said. An inactive account in EPFO ​​is one which has stopped earning interest and it mainly belongs to those members who have retired after the age of 55 and have not made any contribution for three years. However, for those below 55 years of age, the account will continue to earn interest until the customer turns 58 years of age. As of February 2026, there were 31.8 lakh inactive accounts, with Rs 10,181 crore lying unclaimed. Of these, about 7 lakh accounts are more than 20 years old, while 1.8 lakh accounts are between 10-20 years old. About 13 lakh inactive accounts are 5-10 years old.