ARTIC TUNDRA
By: Ashia Fiedy
CONDITION
1/5 of the world is Tundra. This biome is the coldest biome in the world. This biome is he youngest biome and located at latitudes 55° to 70° NorthThis are the characteristic of Tundra:
-Tundra is near the north pole (it’s actually circling the north pole)
-Only few trees grow at Tundra
-At winters, it is extremely cold
-When summer comes, it only come for a short time
The temperature when it’s winter could reach into -34 degree celcious. When summer, it could reach 3-12 degree celcius. The summer only comes for about 6-8 weeks only. Even though it’s summer time, the weather is cloudy and the plants only get a little sunlight.There would be some weeks that the sun doesn’t rises, and it makes the situation more extremely coold than before. Some animals could survive, but som cannot because it’s extremely cold. Overall, the arctic tundra is a low biodiversity.
The under-layer of tundra is called permafrost (450 meters) under the surface , it is frozen and never melts. However, it allowing a little room for deep rooting plants and trees. The upper layer of the Tundra melts at each summer. When it melts, it will make up some small pools , bogs , lakes and marshes. The liquids / water cannot go to the ground because it is block by the permafrost. In tundra, there usually some grassy hills and even rocky mountains. Usually, trees can be found at the arctic and at the top of the mountains.
FAUNA
There is also icy rivers at tundra that goes through the artic ocean and there were some fishes like salmon, flatfish, cod, and trout. The animals in Tundra consist of polar bears, caribou, musk ox, grey wolves, lemmings, rabbits, squirrels, and birds such as penguins, falcons, ravens, terns, and loons. More than 100 species of migrant birds are attracted by the insect food and safe feeding ground of the tundra. The animals in tundra were usually have their food web. It usually has a fast proccess of doing it.
-Polar bear: Polar bear Adult male could reach 900 lbs and 2.6 meters height. The female one could reach into 500 lbs and 2 meters height. Polar bears could wim until 6 miles per hour. But people likes to hunted them for making clothes or even can make the meat as food.`
-Caribou:Caribou it’s actually the famlity of deer. The size could reach up from 4-5 feet. Their wight is 500+lb and the color is like greyish.
-Musk ox: it’s actually an animal that has a skin like beard. Their height could reach from 3-5 feet and 500-900 lb weight. The ,people usually hunt their feather to make it as jacket because people said it’s very confortable and warm when using it.
-Gray Wolves: In scientific terms , the gray wolves are usually called ‘Canis Lupus’ They have really thick feathers and it makes them to protect their body from the cold. Wolves usually also can live for a long time in the cold.
-Lemmings : Lemmings were small animals that has 10-15 cm long and 80 grams weight. They are herbivores, they only eat small plants that grows in the arctic.
FLORA
The plants survive because the water lost through the leaf surface so small leafs can help the plants retain moisture. Most of the arctic tundra's plant life consists of shrubbery, lichen, moss, and flowers . The plants use the hours sunlight to make them grow even though it just for a while, but the plants could grow in a short time. The vegetation usually produce many flowers because the flowers are the plants that can grow fast.
Plants in arctic tundra has the ability to survive in the cold for a long time. It is also possible for the plants to do their photosynthesis in the extremely cold situation. Plants in tundra were grow close together that can make some patterns. Those patterns is also one of the purpose of the plants survival. The patterns can avoid the plants from the weak particles of the snow. The plants that making patterns could form some variations of plants. Usually it could be patterns of colors or the types of the plants.
Moss : Moss is a plant that live by the rocks. This plant needs a lot of water. However, in tundra this plant can survive because the cold area that can make each own water particles. Moss also make the foods by the proccess of photosynthesis like other plants.
Cotton grass : Cotton grass called Eriophorum Scheuchzeri in scientific terms. The height could reach from 1-3 feet tall and the size is only could 1-2 inches.This plant has has white color and the flowers at the grass looks simillar with edelwise.
The water in the tundra can make some ices because of the cold situation, but the water can be useful for the grass around the pools by absorbing the water. But the rest may not because they couldn’t absorb water from the pools unless the upper layer melts.
GLOBAL WARMING
Since it’s global warming, there some issue that the layer in southern tundra melts. When summer comes, the permaforst melts and it makes the plants has trouble for the rooting system. Estimates suggest that about 14 percent of the Earth’s carbon is tied up in the permafrost.
Now the tundra is the biome who absorbs much carbondioxide from the atmosphere through the photosynthesis. This process helped keep the amount of this greenhouse gas from accumulating in the atmosphere. The plants in the tundra especially lichen and grasses are getting darker and absorbing more heat.
Some animals stresses when they have this condition. The global warming makes the tundra condition become not stable. For example the condition / temperature that makes the plants have some changes. It also makes the animals die because of the global warming because they can’t survive within tha unstable situation. People must be care about this issue because animals has rights to have a living like us.
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