What is a tundra? A tundra is arctic plains taking over most of the earth's terrain north of the coniferous forest belt, dominated by sedge, heath, willow, moss, and lichen. In the high mountains of the world it is known as the alpine tundra.

Tundra's are known to have harsh, harsh winters and low average temperatures. It has a short summer with little snow and few rainfalls. In the arctic tundra it is mostly influenced by permafrost. Permafrost is a layer of permanently frozen subsoil in the ground. The layer of permafrost helps rainfall or melt water from soaking into the ground. In the summers the low parts of the tundra are covered with lakes and bogs. In well drains areas of the tundra the periodic freezing and thawing of the soil forms polygon shaped cracks. Sometimes a poorly drained area can produce irregular land forms. Some of the irregular land forms are hummocks, frost boils, and earth stripes.

THE PLANT SPECIES

The tundra has very few plant species. The growth is low and the most of the bio-mass is concentrated in the roots. The plants have a very short growing season and they reproduce by dividing instead of sexually by flower pollination. The plants in the tundra mostly consist of cotton grass, sedge and dwarf heath, also there are many mosses and lichens. the plants in this have adapted to some of the harsh weathers like winds and soil disturbances from the frost heaves.

ANIMAL SPECIES

Just like the plant species there are very few animal species when compared to other biomes. Although, there is a lot more animals than anyone would ever expect. as soon as the surface thaw many birds arrive from the south to make a good home. Some of the different types of birds that travel to this region is the water birds, sandpipers, and plovers. as soon as the ice returns the birds return to the south as quickly as they arrived. Ground squirrels is another type of animal that inhabits this type of region.. They burrow through the long winters. In the month of May they emerge from the ground and mate. By the end of October the animals returned to their burrows.

Although there are small rodents that have made a habitat on the tundra there are many consumers as well. Arctic foxes, snowy owls, wolves, and people feed off the land of the tundra. They have camouflage skins to help them in the many different seasons. Like the in the winter some have white coats to blend in with the snow. they also have heavy layers of fat to protect them against the cold. During the winters the food chain is very short.

In the summer the birds and caribou return from the south. The mosquitoes fill the air and the food chain is a lot bigger. More animals exist in the summer. the tundra has other visitors other than the caribou and birds. Many eagles, vultures, hawks, foxes, weasels and pumas travel to the tundra to feed off of it's animals. They usually reside in warmer areas.

The tundra ecosystem is extremely sensitive. It can not have many disturbances due to the fact that it has little ability to restore itself. the destruction of vegetative cover causes the permafrost to melt deeply, with the loss of soil. tracks from vehicles causes deep gullies that persist for many years. Over hunting is another problem in the tundra. The problem leads to extinction. The tundra is very fragile and needs to be taken care of properly just like and other region of the world!

RESOURCES;
TUNDRA; Microsoft Encarta '96
THE TUNDRA BIOME; What's Ecology, Lawrence W. McCombs