TUNDRA
What makes a Tundra a unique habitat?
A tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons.In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra. The Arctic tundra is a vast area of stark landscape, which is frozen for much of the year. The soil there is frozen from 25-90 cm (9.8-35.4 inches) down, and it is impossible for trees to grow. Instead, bare and sometimes rocky land can only support low growing plants such as moss, heath, and lichen.
There are two main seasons, winter and summer, in the polar Tundra areas. During the winter it is very cold and dark, with the average temperature around -28 °C (-18.4°F), sometimes dipping as low as -50 °C (-58°F). However, extreme cold temperatures on the tundra do not drop as low as those experienced in taiga areas further south (for example, Russia's and Canada's lowest temperatures were recorded in locations south of the treeline). During the summer, temperatures rise somewhat, and the top layer of the permafrost melts, leaving the ground very soggy.
The tundra is a very windy area, with winds often blowing upwards at 48-97 km/h (30-60 miles an hour). However, in terms of precipitation, it is desert-like, with only about 15-25 cm (6-10 inches) falling per year (the summer is typically the season of maximum precipitation). During the summer, the permafrost thaws just enough to let plants grow and reproduce, but because the ground below this is frozen, the water cannot sink any lower, and so the water forms the lakes and marshes found during the summer months. Although precipitation is light, evaporation is also relatively minimal.
What kind of animals can be found there?
The harsh landscape of the tundra does not seem like a great place to live. Appropriately, the biodiversity of tundras is low: 1,700 species of vascular plants and only 48 land mammals can be found, although thousands of insects and birds migrate there each year for the marshes. There are also a few fish species such as the flat fish. There are few species with large populations. Some of the most popular tundra animals are the Dolphin, Polar Bear and Wolf.
Would you like to know more about the Tundra inhabitants?
Bald_Eagle Bee Beetle Bobcat Brown_Bear Butterfly Dolphin Frog Goat Lynx Owl Polar_Bear Sheep Small_Cat Spider Whale Wolf
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