Tundra Ecosystem Essay

The tundra is by far the coldest type of biome, as it is known for its low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Occurring primarily near the Arctic within the Northern Hemisphere, the soil may be frozen all year up to a few feet, which allows no tree growth. However, a few animals have adapted to these conditions. These animals include lemmings, hares, oxen, foxes, wolves, and more. Within the tundra biome there are two different types of tundra biomes, arctic tundra and alpine tundra.

In which mosses, lichens, and other shrubs thrive on hills and valleys in the tundra (National Geographic). Permafrost, which acts a layer of snow on the land, remains frozen year round, with the exception of summer, when the top layers thaw, while the bottom layers remain frozen (National Geographic). These soil conditions greatly hinder soil development. Despite the short growing season, plants in the tundra have learned to adapt through various ways such as, a) grouping together to resist the strong winds of the tundra, b) learning to photosynthesize in low temperatures and light intensities, while using the minimum amounts of energy and c) reproducing by less energy dependent ways (Kids Do Ecology). Like plants, animals who call the tundra home, such as caribou, arctic hares, squirrels, wolves, and polar bears, ravens etc. have also learned to adapt to life in the tundra. They have developed the ability to breed and raise their young during the summer, accumulate fat that serves as insulation, hibernate when food sources are limited, and/or migrate to other areas during the winter months (University of California Museum of Paleontology). In spite of the tundra’s frigid climate, the frozen desert still manages to have a thriving food chain from beginning to end, with producers, herbivores, omnivores and

The tundra is one of the cooldest land biomes on the planet. Due to the high winds and the permafrost there are no trees becuase it dosent allow the growth of deep roots. All the producers and othe need to get adapted to the cold temperatures, little sun and short growing season to stay alive. The tundra is considered a poor enviroment thats low in resources. The dead minerals get recycled by othe decomposers like the slime molds, fungi, and bacteria. Rain increases photosynthesis and decomposition. Air pollution kills lichen in the cold tundra. The warmer climates allow trees to invade the shade out the small tundra plants. And warmer temperatures can increase decompositon, while releasing more CO2 into the air causing mor global

The muskox can survive in the tundra due to its large coat of rough hair on its body. It lives in the tundra to find what it needs to stay sustained such as roots, mosses and lichens.Next the Arctic Hare survives in the tundra because it has shortened ears and limbs, a wad small nose, fat that makes up 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur. It live in the Tundra because that is its place of origin.Third the Polar Bear survives in the tundra because it has a big fur coat over a thick warm coat of fat. It stays in the arctic or tundra due to those locations have the food source they need to survive.Fourth the Arctic fox survives in the Tundra because the furry soles, short ears and short muzzle which are good for chilly climates. They stay

Permafrost is very vulnerable to changes in air temperature and different snow coverages making it extremely sensitive to climate change. As the permafrost is melting, it continues to amplify the already rapidly increasing rate of global warming because it is releasing heat-trapping elements that are stored in the soil and the ice into the atmosphere. In the Beringia Upland Tundra, average temperatures in the year 2050 are expected to be 3.5-7 degrees fahrenheit higher than what current temperatures are at now. With this happening, the permafrost will continue to melt unless humans reduce the amount of heat-trapping emissions being let into the atmosphere (Hagenstein). Through warmer climate is increased evaporation, lakes are getting severly smaller and permafrost is thinning. As the climate warms, shrubs are entering into the tundra. In some circumstances and places, shrubs are taking place of other tundra vegetation such as lichen. Caribou depend on lichens for food in the winter since the tundra does not produce much food in the winter. A decline of lichen can cause a negative slope of growth and and numbers of these animals, and can possibly lead to extinction in this region. If caribou don't survive, then other animal species in this region will not be able to evolve and thrive since caribou are a solid food source for them

Polar bears are just one kind of animal you can find on the tundra did you know the tundra is the coldest biome of them all? The climate, producers, and consumers, are all parts that make up the tundra.

A lemming is and small rodent animal that lives in the arctic. And the biome called the tundra that is usually up north. The tundra is biome when it is cold, snowy, and dry. Plant life in the tundra is cold. They have a variety of plants there, they have bearberry, Caribou moss, Diamond leaf willow, Labrador Tea, Pasque Flower. Most animals that live in the tundra eats these plants to gain and use energy and season to stay warm. The tundra is a very cold place to be the temperatures start from 20 to 10 Fahrenheit so in Celsius that would be -6 to -12. And also during the summer time the have 50 to 60 of summer growing when the sun shines everyday 24 hours a day. Lemmings do not hibernate through the winter time. They keep on find food so they

Humans have been interacting with the Arctic tundra for centuries now. They have used the land to explore and race, for example, the infamous race between Admunsen and Scott to the South pole. However, the human civilisation on the Arctic tundra have had their implications, both severe and light. Humans have slaughtered whales and seals since very early days, for food as well as commercial and self-profiting purposes. The most recent and paramount problem is global warming and pollution, which is harming the Arctic Tundra far more than the sealing and whaling ever did.

Tundra biomes are located in the region just south of the Arctic ice caps, the high mountain tops of North America, Europe, Siberia, half of Canada and most of the Alaskan coast. The summer last 6 to 10 weeks on average and does not get warmer than 50 degrees. In winter the temperature ranges from -20 degrees to 20 degrees. The climate is unusually dry and cold with the rain averaging no more than 10 inches yearly that includes the melted snow. The dry and strong makes the tundra an extreme weather biome. However, there are few trees in the tundra and even smaller vegetation that are capable of growing in a tundra. You most commonly can find dwarf shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens. Some of the animals that thrive in the tundra are the Arctic

In class, we watched a film explaining the wonders of the tundra biome. Tundra refers to the treeless plains that are most commonly characteristic of the cold environment of arctic and sub-arctic regions. They make up 1/5, or 20%, of the Earth’s surface. The word tundra originated and derived from the Finnish word "Tunturia" which means 'treeless heights,' which applies perfectly to tundra and its lack of large trees. When one refers to the tundra biome, they thinks about the characteristics of location containing an extremely cold climate, low biotic diversity, simple vegetation structure, short growing season, limited drainage and large population oscillation.

It contains an expanse of tundra with many marshes and lagoons with rivers situated between foothills of the Brooks Range and the wide, icy waters of the Beaufort Sea. Environmentalists said that this area “is the most biologically productive part of the Arctic Refuge for wildlife and is the center if wildlife activity.” The importance of these resources is not measurable. The Arctic is home to such animals as caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, musk oxen, whales, wolves and snow geese. This area is full of wildflowers and contains water of excellent, unpolluted quality and quantity. The Arctic Ocean costal plain is an area critical to the survival of many birds and mammals (‘Alaska Wild’).

The tundra is a biome of a large, flat, treeless landscape in the Northern Hemisphere where permafrost is evident. The tundra covers 20 percent of the earth’s surface. The tundra has a colder climate with temperatures -30 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit with precipitation of six to ten inches. The environment is cold, windy and harsh; forcing plants and animals to adapt. Herbivores eat the plants to survive, and the predators eat the other predators or herbivores. Nitrogen, oxygen, argon and carbon dioxide made up the atmosphere in the tundra. The tundra has the same average temperatures and landscapes are prevalent. Variation across continents is very little. The landscape, temperature and precipitation are are very similar.

Animals of the tundra have had to adapt to the long cold winters and to having to raise their young quickly in the summer. Some other adaptations of animals include thick insulating cover of feathers or fur; large, compact bodies; pelage and plumage that turns white in the winter and brown in the summer; the ability to accumulate thick deposits of fat during the short growing season; hibernation; and migration. Some of the animals that are found living in the tundra are lemmings, voles, caribou, artic hares, squirrels, artic foxes, wolves, polar bear, ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, ravens, sandpipers, terns, snow birds, mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers, black flies, artic bumble bees, cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout. Some of these animals are shared with other neighboring biomes but some are only home to the tundra. The tundra is the simplest biome in terms of species composition and food chain. The neighboring biome of the tundra is the boreal forest (taiga).

These areas, which are called polynyas, provide shelter for various organisms like walruses because they have permanent access to the air but can still retreat to the sea for food and shelter. The strong currents within the arctic can also pose a danger because the shifting ice can trap animals. For example, when bowhead whales and beluga whales are trapped by the ice, they are within the reach of polar bears, who are the dominant predators in the region. Many animals are dependent on polar bears and the presence of these predators affects the behavior of animals, both big and small, in the arctic. For example, gulls and arctic foxes scavenge and rely on polar bear kills during the freezing winters. When the ice begins to melt with the onset of Summertime, the ocean becomes more accessible. This allows for migrating birds from the South to arrive to nest and feed on the accessible seafood. This can be seen in the example of Brunnich Guillemots, the north equivalent of penguins, who fly in order to

Beaver goes on land to look for food. The other animals that share this habitat are coyotes, mice, rabbits, hares, insects, lynx, squirrel, deer, bobcats, birds, bears. The animals and plants depend on each