Alpine Tundra

Alpine tundras are located high up in mountains, where the altitudes levels are so high that no trees grow there.  At night time the alpine tundra’s temperature is below freezing.

The plants in the alpine are:

• tussock grasses
• dwarf trees
• small-leafed shrubs
• heaths

The animals in the alpines are:

• Mammals: pikas, marmots, mountain goats, sheep, elk
• Birds: grouselike birds
• Insects: springtails, beetles, grasshoppers, butterflies

The Arctic Tundra

The arctic tundra is located near the northern hemisphere, it surrounds the North Pole then spreads downwards to he coniferous forests of the taiga. The arctic tundra is cold and desert like. Growing season only lasts for about 50 to 60 days. The average winter temperature in arctic tundra’s is -34 celcius. The average temperature of the arctic tundra during the summer is 3-12 celcius.

The plants and animals that live in the arctic tundra:

• low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses
• 400 varieties of flowers
• crustose and foliose lichen
• Herbivorous mammals: lemmings, voles, caribou, arctic hares and squirrels
• Carnivorous mammals: arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears
• Migratory birds: ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, ravens, sandpipers, terns, snow birds, and various species of gulls
• Insects: mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers, blackflies and arctic bumble bees
• Fish: cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout

Due to the cold climate of the arctic tundra, many animals, either hibernate for migrate south when winter comes. This causes the population rate of the arctic tundra to change consistently.

Introduction, The Tundra

The tundra is one of the coldest biomes, it’s name “tundra” is derived from the Finnish word, “tunturi,” meaning treeless plain.  The tundra is a frost-molded landscape.

The characteristics of a Tundra are

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 types of tundras, the artic tundra, and the alpine tundra.