Widespread Biomes: Tundra

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

I chose the song Tundra by Ola GJeilo because of its unique sound. The song sounds like no other song, and it is very original in my perspective. The song is performed beautifully by this choir, and it has a lot of potential. This song is a short, yet sweet piece that shows the beauty of Norway. This song exemplifies how poetry can be turned into music.

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

Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink soaking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Deforestation undermines this important carbon sink function. It is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the

The facts are that the rate that permafrost regions release any stored carbon dioxide depends on how fast the organic material in the frozen ground decomposes. That also depends on what the dirt is made up of, if the soil is well drained, for instance, it releases carbon as carbon dioxide, while if it is poorly drained, it could release a more dangerous form of carbon turned into methane gases. Scientists believe that some of the frozen permafrost regions have been frozen for more than 11,000 years, while others have unthawed at various other

In the Northeastern part of Russia, summers are cold and winters are colder. The Siberian Tundra is home to many abiotic factors such as strong winds, little precipitation, and short summers days. With poor soil and permafrost, the tundra could soon be gone, or at least cause dramatic changes to the earth. According to Evans (2002), the grounds of the Siberian Tundra are misty during the summer. The average temperature in the Tundra is 37 to 54 degrees yet, in these short months of summer, the Siberian tundra has a permafrost layer that is starts to disappear. This loss of permafrost is resulting in the rise of carbon emissions, which contributes to global climate change. Through research, we can better understand the disappearance of the permafrost layer in the Siberian tundra. How and why is it disappearing, and what impact this disappearance is having on the tundra, and on a much larger scale, the Earth?

Reindeer mosses and lingonberries are the producers of the tundra’s food chain (Naik, 2013) . The primary consumers, arctic hare and reindeer, can’t get their energy directly from the sun so they depend on the producers to obtain the energy they need. The arctic fox is the secondary consumer because they prey on arctic hares but also eat berries. The snowy owl, polar bear, and arctic wolf are the tundra’s tertiary consumers. Snowy owls eats the arctic hare and and arctic fox. Arctic wolves eats the arctic hare, arctic fox, and reindeer. Arctic wolves have been known to prey on snowy owls because unlike regular owls they build their nests on the ground. This brings a disadvantage to the snowy owl since it is now more accessible to prey. The last tertiary consumer in this biome is the polar biome. The polar bear consumes the arctic fox, arctic hare, and sometimes the reindeer. Because nothing are predators to the arctic wolf or polar, they die a natural death. When these organisms die they decompose and become nutrients to the producers of this biome. This allows the entire process to be started over again and is important to maintain the ecological balance of the

The tundra biome is the coldest of all the biomes. During winter the tundra biome has an average temperature of -30 degrees fahrenheit. The tundra biome is a dry, cold, windy area with low vegetation. The tundra biome has an average rainfall of 6-10 inches per year. Tundra biomes are found closer towards the north pole. Mountains are also common to the tundra biome.

Imagine that you're in a place that’s alluring and unique. There are animals prancing around everywhere on a ground that covers layers of frozen water. The Project that I have chosen to take on the habitat and ecosystem called the Alaskan Arctic Tundra. The tundra has an extremely cold climate with a simple vegetation structure. Even though I chose the Alaskan Arctic Tundra, there are other places that are also tundras like in Siberia, Canada, and even a tiny part of Colorado. The geography of it has a variety of plants even though there is a permanent layer of permafrost.

This research looks to understand how microscale differences in soil and plant canopy surface temperatures, rather than macroscale differences, can affect a plant’s photosynthetic output, its ability to survive in a given environment, and the general ecological processes within the alpine fellfield ecosystem. This ecological research was conducted in the White Mountains of eastern California: an alpine fellfield ecosystem with rich plant diversity. From the first to the third of August in 2005, the researchers measured changes in surface temperature on a spatial scale by measuring variances within a few centimeters of soil and a time-based scale by measuring differences within the span of a few minutes. The results showed a tremendous variation in temperature on both spatial and time-based scales based on the respective locations of different plant environments in the alpine fellfield. Models predict that the alpine fellfield will experience a higher range of

The vegetation of tundra is mostly relative to herbs, consisting of a mixture of mosses, grass and forbs. The frozen layer of soil that’s in tundra due to the climate hinders the growth of plants, so the plants had to find a way to adapt. Some plants are useful for humans. Hairy stems keep plants warm in the tundra. The bearberry is the most common plant in the tundra. Plants have adapted to the arctic tundra by building up the capacity to grow underneath ice and the flowering plant produces flowers rapidly once the summer begins.

The Arctic like biomes has a very limited amount of plant and animal life compared to other biomes. These Arctic like biomes would include the Arctic of course, the Taiga, and the Tundra. They are very well known for its ridiculously cold and harsh climate and is important because it helps moderate our global climate. One example of an animal from these Arctic like biomes is the Mustela obsesipedetes. There is little doubt that creatures in these Arctic like biomes are perfectly adapted for life in the cold. In my personal opinion, I believe that the Mustela obsesipedetes is the most well adapted creature in the whole entire Animalia.

This biome is much like a frozen desert, due to its extremely low temperature and lack of precipitation. The average temperature in the tundra is -28 degrees Celsius, and the average precipitation is around 10 inches per year. The tundra is located up at the North Pole, and covers 20% of the surface of the Earth. The tundra is covered in small plants such as lichen, mosses and grass, however, lacks foliage such as trees. Trees cannot grow due to the lack of water, extremely cold temperatures and super short growing seasons. A common trait of nearly all animals that inhibit the tundra is that they have white fur. Common animals that call the tundra their home are the arctic fox, arctic hare, caribou, and of course, the polar bear. Seals reside in the freezing waters that surround the tundra, and are a major food source for the polar bears. Plants in the tundra include mosses, lichen, and grasses. Trees do not grow here because they freeze much too easily and require more water than the small plants mentioned above to

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).