TUNDRA

Where the World’s Ice

Deserts can be found

ALPINE SKI HOUSE

THE COLDEST
THE HARSHEST

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 TUNDRA

Comes from the Finnish word

tunturi, which means “Treeless
Plain”

The coldest of all the biome.

covers about one fifth of the land

on earth

2 MAJOR NUTRIENTS: Nitrogen and

Phosphorus
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 CHARACTERISTICS
OF TUNDRA
INCLUDES:
 Extremely cold climate

 Low biotic diversity

 Simple vegetation structure

 Limitation of drainage

 Short season of growth and reproduction

 Energy and nutrients in the form of dead

organic material

 Large population oscillations

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 TWO TYPES OF TUNDRA

ARCTIC TUNDRA ALPINE TUNDRA

 Found in northern parts of North America,
Europe, and Asia and mostly within the
Arctic Circle and above the edge of the
coniferous forests—latitude 60°N in Canada
and Siberia and latitude 70°N in the other
countries.
 Usually lies between and altitude of about 10,000
feet (3,000 meters) and the place where the snow
line of a mountain begins.
 The treeline in the region is estimated to rise 75
meters 1° South from the latitude 70° to 50° N. and
130 meter per 1° from 50° to 30° N and around 20° S.
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 ARCTIC TUNDRA
 Arctic tundra regions are located
between coniferous forests and
the north pole

 Known for its cold, desert-like

conditions

 Characterized by extremely cold

temperatures and land that
remains frozen year-round

 Soils are form slowly

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 SPECIES PRESENT
(PLANTS) CRUSTOSE AND FOLIOSE LICHEN

Low shrubs, sedges,

reindeer mosses, liveworts,
and grasses
400 varieties of flowers LIVEWORTS REINDEER MOSSES

Crustose and foliose lichen

400 VARIETIES OF FLOWERS

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 SPECIES PRESENT
(ANIMALS) lemmings CARIBUO
 Herbivorous mammals: Lemmings, Voles,
Caribou, Arctic Hares, and Squirrels

 Carnivorous mammals: Arctic Foxes, Wolves,

Polar Bears

 Migratory birds: Ravens, Snow Bunting, ARCTIC FOX

Falcons, Loons, Sandpipers, Terns, Snow SNOW BUNTING
Birds, and various species of Gulls

 Insects: Mosquitoes, Flies, Moths,

Grasshoppers, Blackflies, and Arctic Bumble
Bees

 Fishes: Cod, Salmon, Flatfish, and Trout WOLF AND POLAR BEAR
ALPINERAVEN
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 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
PRECIPITATION
low amounts of precipitation
The arctic tundra typically
receives less than 10 inches of
precipitation per year (mostly in
the form of snow) with
temperatures averaging below
minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit in
winter
TEMPERATURE
EXTREMELY COLD
TEMPERATURES
The average winter is 34° C (-30°
F) and average summer is 3-12° C
(37-54° F). The highest parts of the
arctic tundra can have winter
temperature averages of −28 °C
(−18 °F), sometimes dipping as low
as −50 °C (−58 °F).
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 The most important feature
of arctic tundra is one you
can’t even see. It’s a layer of
permanently frozen soil
called permafrost, which lies
about 25 to 95 cm
underground. Permafrost
acts as a barrier to tree roots,
so no trees can grow above
it. ALPINE SKI HOUSE 10
 ALPINE TUNDRA
 Alpine tundra regions can be
anywhere in the world's high
elevations

 Although the land is not frozen

year-round as in arctic tundra
regions, these lands are typically
covered in snow for most of the
year.

 The soil in the alpine tundra is well

drained

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 SPECIES PRESENT
(PLANTS)
Tussock grasses, dwarf
trees, small-leafed shrubs,
Tussock grasses
and heaths

Dwarf trees
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 SPECIES PRESENT
(ANIMALS) pikas marmots
Mammals: Pikas, Marmots,
Mountain Goats, Sheep, and Elk
Birds: Grouselike Birds
elk
Insects: Springtails, Beetles, Mountain goats

Grasshopppers, Butterflies

Grouselike bird
ALPINEspringtails
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 CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
PRECIPITATION
receives more precipitation
The average annual precipitation
is around 20 inches. Most of this
precipitation is in the form of
snow.
TEMPERATURE
temperatures averaging below
freezing at night
The average winter temperature
is -34° C (-30° F), but the
average summer temperature is 3-
12° C (37-54° F) which enables
this biome to sustain life.
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