A tundra is a vast, treeless plain in

the arctic region.

Tundra is the coldest of all the
biomes.

1. Extremely cold climate

2. Low biotic diversity
3. Simple vegetation structure
4. Limitation of drainage
5. Short season of growth and reproduction
6. Energy and nutrients in the form of dead
organic material
7. Large population oscillations

There are two kinds of tundras, Arctic and

alpine. Arctic tundras lie near the Arctic
Ocean. They include Greenland, northern
parts of Alaska, Canada, Europe and
Russia.

The Alpine tundra is located at the top of

mountains across the world.

Its located on mountains throughout the world at high altitude

where trees cannot grow.
Growing season is approximately 180 days.
Night time temperature is usually below freezing.
Unlike the Arctic tundra, the soil in the alpine is well drained.
Plants similar to the Arctic include: tussock grasses, dwarf trees, &
heaths
Animals include: Mountain goats, elk, sheep, butterflies, &
grasshoppers

Its freezing for almost all of the year.

The average temperature per year is
16 degrees F.
Summer temperatures get up to 45
degrees F. (last 6-10 weeks)
Lowest temperature it can get is 10
degrees F below 0- 20 degrees F.

Most of the precipitation that

falls is snow. In summer it falls
as rain with occasional snow.
Average precipitation per
season is 4.5 in.
Average precipitation per year
is 18 inches.

The plants growing in the tundra are often small and

grow close to the ground. This helps resist cold temp.
and snow during the winter.
Due to permafrost, there are no deep root system in the
plant life of the arctic tundra. (1,700 different kinds of
plants)
They carry out photosynthesis at low temperatures.
Plants are more likely to reproduce vegetatively by
division and budding than by flower pollination
sexually, due to the short growing season.

Theyre called
cushion plants b/c
they grow in a low
tight clump and look
like a little cushion.
Theyre more
common in the tundra
where their growth
habitat helps protect
them from the cold.

The frigid cold and deep snow makes life in the

tundra very difficult.
Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters
and to breed and raise young quickly in the
summer.
Some have grown thick fur which turns white in the
winter.
Mammals and birds have additional insulation from
fat.
Others find a place to hibernate during the winter
months b/c food is not abundant.
Reptiles & amphibians are few or absent b/c of
extremely cold temp.

Classified as Mammals
Theyre fast & can outrun a
caribou over a short distance.
Swims extremely well.
Diet: large and small mammals,
fish, birds, berries, leaves
Carnivores
Habitat: coasts, ice floes
Range: Arctic Ocean to southern
limits of ice floes

Thick fur and amazing

stamina
They know how to
adapt to the frigid
conditions in the
tundra.
Dogs curl themselves
up to protect from the
harsh wind.
The dogs must mush
and work as a team in
order to survive.

The extremely cold weather

keeps the human population to
a minimum.

President Bush and Congress have tried to push the keys to Alaskas Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge to the oil industry. They tried to dig into the Arctic
to try and get the oil. The Senate rejected this amendment.

Theres approx. 16 billion of barrels, but only 3.2 billion would be recovered. It
would take 10 years for the oil to reach the pump.
The refuge would produce less than 2% of the oil Americans are expected to
use.The small amount of oil would come at an enormous, and irreversible cost.
The oil isnt concentrated in a single, large reservoir. Its spread across the coastal
plain in more than 30 small deposits. This would require vast networks of roads &
pipelines that would fragment the habitat, disturbing and displacing wildlife.

The tundra is a major balance in our ecosystem and

it must be there for many species to sustain life.
If humanity interferes with the tundra ,the world as
we know it may be in route for a disastrous change
for the worst.

Many animals compete for the plant

lichen.
Lichen is the favorite food of caribou and
musk oxen.
Lichen are homes for spiders, mites, lice,
and other insects.

Lichens are a successful alliance

between a fungus and an algae. Each
doing what it does best, and thriving
as a result of a natural cooperation.
They live as one organism, both
inhabiting the same body.

Friend algae cell is prepared to

greet Mr. Fungus
Mr. Fungus is ready o
greet our friend the algae.

The lichen is created between

the fungus and the algae

The Lichen is created between the fungus and the algae.

After the first meeting -- If the fungus and algae are
compatible, they can make a lichen body (thallus). This means
that only certain algae and certain fungi can get together to
form a lichen. Thus each fungus and algae form a unique type
of thallus body; we can use this thallus body to help assign
them names and make identifications.
The algae will begin to use sunlight to make sugars or food
which will feed both the fungus and the algae. The fungus will
create a thallus or body that will house both organisms.

The animals present are not very diverse, but pop up all over
the different tundra locations throughout the globe. Very few
plants can adapt to tundra due to the fact that the soil is poor
and not deep. That leads to a very short season of
reproduction and growth. Many organisms derive their energy
from one of the most abundant sources--dead organic
material.

mbgnet.mobot.org
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