TUNDRA BIOME

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TUNDRA BIOME

• By
• Jenny Arias

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When you hear the word tundra what is the first
thing you think of?

• A warm place..?
• A forest?
• Dessert?

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Quick facts about Tundra

• Tundra have 9 months of temperatures below
  freezing.
• Tundra is the coldest of all biomes.
• This biome covers about 1/5 of the land in Earth.
• Artic tundra is the youngest of all biomes formed
  10,000 years ago.
• Short season of growth and reproduction.
• Low biotic diversity.
• Plants in tundra are protected by the snow during
  winter.

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Conditions

• Tundra is found just below the ice caps of the
  artic.
• Temperature are extremely cold but, can get warm
  during the summer.
• Tundra winters are long, dark, and cold.

• Temperature can easy reach to 0 degrees for 6 to
  10 months.
• Some of the most common plants are mosses, sedges
  and lichens.
• Annual precipitation is very low.

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Climate

• Tundra is known to be located near the artic
  circle therefore, tundra climate is very cold and
  dry. The temperature can easily range from -40
  degrees fahrenheit to -93, depending on the area.
  However in the summer temperature can go up to
  45 degree fahrenheit. The warmest summers
  happens in Siberia, Alaska and Canada.
• Tundra is one of the driest places in earth with
  a total of 6 to 10 inches of rain per year
  (including melted snow)

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Some more weather stuff..

• In spite of the low rainfall this biome is known
  to have very wet underfoot because the moisture
  evaporates slowly.
• As a result of low temperatures precipitation is
  light. Usually 10 inches a year however, eastern
  and western in North America have almost double
  the amount because of the influence of the ocean.

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Location

• Tundra is located at the top of the world, near
  the arctic circle.
• Tundra is found in the following places
• Siberia
• Russia
• Asia
• Canada
• Alaska

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Plants

• Tundra is not a suitable place for plants to grow
  due to the extremely cold temperatures that
  permanently freeze the soil therefore, most of
  tundra plants are low shrubs. The average tree
  is less than a knee high. Some of the most
  common types of plants are

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Types of plants

• Artic willow Found in North American tundra.
  This is a treeless plain with uneven ground
  usually found in dry, open places.
• Bearberry Also known as Foxberry. Is a low
  growing ever green, covered in a thick bark and
  fine silky hairs.
• Caribou moss This plant is found on the ground
  and rocks. It looks like foamy gray, green
  spongy mass and grows to be 1 to 4 inches high.
• Labrador tea Labrador tea grows to be 4 to 5
  feet. It has a woody branches with narrow 1 to 2
  inches leaves. This plant is smooth on the upper
  side with rusty nails underneath.
• Pasque flower-- One of the prettiest flowers
  that grows in tundra. This flower has several
  stems that rises 6-8 inch off the ground. The
  color can range from dark lavender to almost
  white.

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• Bearberry
• Pasque Flower

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Animals

• Tundra animals are very familiar to those found
  in the north pole, with a tick layer of skin and
  can easily hide under the snow. This are
  examples of some of the animals that are found in
  tundra
• isnt he a cutie?

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Types of animals

• Musk oxs-- These animals have very long curvy
  horns with sharp tips that have a scent for
  mating. They feed off plants, and their main
  animal predator are wolves.
• Wolves Known for their strong teeth, a fur coat
  and good eye sight.
• Polar bear This type of animal have a white coat
  with sharp claws to hold their prey. Good smell
  sense. Most of their food consists of seals.
• Fox They have coats that change between seasons.
  They eat lemmings, berries, eggs and gulls.
• Brown bear Large animal with a fur and long
  claws. They eat large amount of berries, fish
  and plants.

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Endangered Species

• There are many reason of why animal become
  endangered species, but one of the biggest treats
  facing the animals that live in tundra is global
  warming.
• For example, polar bears are being highly
  affected by this global warming. Scientist have
  reported effects in the body size and the amount
  of the animals have decreased 15 .
• Polar bear is the largest four-footed carnivore
  on earth. This animal can live up to 25 years.
  The entire body is furred, even the bottom of the
  paws, which helps prevent them from slipping on
  the ice.
• Polar bears have this tick skin made specially
  for the harsh environment they live. Polar bears
  are known to be comfortable in freezing water and
  land. They can be found on pack ice, coastal
  islands, coastlines and out in the artic water.

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Endangered Species

• Peary Caribou is another animal endangered
  species. Peary Caribou are smaller than
  barren-ground caribou, with a smaller face,
  shorter legs and lighter color. In winter they
  have a mostly white color, during the summer it
  turns into grey, with white legs.
• Peary caribou are known to be around harsh,
  treeless environment. In summer they hang around
  in moist areas such as river valleys, slopes and
  upland plains. However, in winter they like to
  hang around hill tops and raised beach ridges
  where the snow layer is thinner which makes it
  easier to search for food.

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Food web
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Natural resources

• Tundra has a very cold climate. Most of the
  resources that are easily found in other biomes
  are hard to find them here. This are the 3 most
  abundant resources found in tundra.
• Ice-gt Ice counts for 90 of the world fresh
  water.
• Coal-gt Found in swamps as plants die and are
  buried before they can be complety decomposed.
  This is used aa direct heat.
• Oil-gt Oil is found in the mountains lowlands and
  plateaus. This was made a million years ago
  living things died and as years passed they were
  cover by mud and rocks, and the pressure cause
  the oil to form.

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Soil

• Cold temperature and thin sol make it possible
  for artic tundra species to thrive in the alphie
  tundra. However like artic tundra soil, rain
  runs of rather than collecting in the soil,
  making the ground very dry.

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Threats

• Pollution is not something that happen right on
  tundra. Tundra pollution problem comes from
  airborne pollutants.
• The biggest threats comes from oil and gas
  development which results in global warming. As
  the earth warms each day the permafrost melts and
  tundra ecosystem will be ruin, not only that but
  also permafrost has dead plant material thats is
  going into the air as carbon dioxide which will
  speed up global warming.

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References

• http//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome
  /tundra.html- Oct 27
• http//webacc.fsd38.ab.ca/schools/Gibson/milz/geog
  raphy/tundra_far_north_sw/tundra_far_north1.htm-
  Oct 28
• http//www.defenders.org/wildlife/arctic/caribou.j
  pg- Oct 28
• http//www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra_climate_pag
  e.htm -Oct 29
• http//www.runet.edu/swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/bio
  mes/tundra/tunill.htmltunmat Oct 30