Tundra – the land of the midnight sun By: Sofia Rivera & Yonsu Lee

About the tundra The tundra is a cold and treeless biome, it forms a belt across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. It includes a permanent frozen layer of soil called permafrost, the permafrost stays frozen for all but 8 weeks in the whole year. The tundra is also separated into two parts the alpine and the artic tundra.

Climate The yearly average temperature ranges from - 26ºC to 12ºC. The average temperature of the summer is 3 – 12ºC. The temperature of the winter is -34ºC The average yearly precipitation is <25cm

Bodies of water and landforms The main bodies of water in the alpine tundra are lakes and streams. In the artic there is only on known body of water, which is the ocean. When it comes to landforms the alpine includes mountains, grass, and no trees. The artic only includes ice and somewhat high mountains.

Autotrophs Even though the tundra is a cold biome it still has a wide variety of plants, there are 1,700 plants in the tundra. The artic includes low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses. The alpine has tussock grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths.

Autotroph pictures

Heterotrophs Animals that live in the tundra have fur which that allow them to survive the extreme temperatures and conditions that are present in a tundra. For example: >Arctic Fox  >Polar Bear >Snowy Owls  

More Pictures of Heterotroph

Food web in the tundra The food web shows that the polar bear reigns and the predator it has is man. The herbivores are the Pikas, Musk ox, Caribous lemmings and Arctic hares. They are the first order consumers. The carnivores are the Arctic foxes and Brown bears . They are second order consumers. In the food web it shows that Arctic foxes are eaten by Arctic wolves, Polar bears, and Snowy owls.

Tundra adaption's The adaption’s needed for plants to survive the tundra are their dark color, small size, and hair they are covered in. The plants need their dark color to absorb solar heat and the hair to keep them warm. Animal adaption’s are their color, fur, teeth, and other attributes. An example is the arctic fox which has white fur to match the snow in winter and sharp teeth to catch its prey. The caribou have their fur to keep warm and antler to fight off predators.

Ecological concerns Some concerns is the melting permafrost, air pollution, climate change, and human development. The melting permafrost could change the landscape and the species that live there. Air pollution can cause a smog and contaminate lichen, which is a food source for some animals. The climate change can affect the animals, who are used to the cold climate. Human development is obviously affecting the land where it takes place and migration patterns.