TUNDRA

WHAT IS TUNDRA BIOME?

Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes., comes from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless plain. It is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two major nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is created by biological fixation, and

phosphorus is created by precipitation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TUNDRA
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

TUNDRA CLIMATE
The tundra climate - Greenland to parts of Alaska, northern Canada, and northern Russia. The latitudinal range is 75 N to 60 N. The ocean water keeps the climate from falling to the extreme temperatures found in the interior of the continents.

SUMMER
Summer: is a brief period of milder climates when the sun shines almost 24 hours a day. It has been called "the land of the midnight sun". The short summer lasts only 6 to 10 weeks. It never gets any warmer than 45 or 50 F. The warmer weather causes a layer of permafrost, ice that never goes away in the ground, to melt, creating bogs and shallow lakes that don't drain. They breed stinging insects, which make life even in the summer miserable for the inhabitants of the tundra. The wind blows constantly, whipping around the small plants.

WINTER
*Winter: (long winter) the sun barely rises and it is dark for most of the day. Bitter cold winds scud across the barren snow scape, exposing high plateaus to barren ground. Winter temperatures don't reach above 20 F and average -20 to 30F. The snow that falls is blown off the high plateaus and collects in the valleys. Animals hunker down, able to find only enough food to

keep warm.

VEGETATION
Lichens, Mosses, Sedges, Perennial forbs Dwarfted shrubs.

WHERE IS TUNDRA FOUND?

Tundra is found in the extreme North of Canada and Asia.

TUNDRA IS SEPARATED IN TWO TYPES:

Arctic tundra

Alpine tundra

ARCTIC TUNDRA
Occurs in the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt.

The word "tundra" usually

refers only to the areas where the subsoil is permafrost, or

permanently frozen soil.

ALPINE TUNDRA
Alpine tundra does not contain trees because it has high altitude. Alpine tundra is distinguished from arctic tundra, because alpine tundra typically does not have permafrost, and alpine soils are generally better drained than arctic

soils. Alpine tundra transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted
forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as Krummholz.

Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by the low air pressure, and is similar to polar climate.

BIOTIC FACTORS
Biotic Factors-biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem Plants like Heaths and mosses have to adapt to the very long and cold winters because the sun does not come up in the winter Wildlife like arctic tundra animals include snowy owls, reindeer, polar bears, white foxes, lemmings, arctic hares, wolverines, caribou, migrating birds, mosquitoes, and black flies.

ABIOTIC FACTORS
Abiotic Factors-Physical, or nonliving, factors that shapes an ecosystem Strong Winds little precipitation (rainfall)

short summer days

very long and cold winters poor soil permafrost-a layer of permanently frozen subsoil

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php

http://oildrillingh.tripod.com/id14.html