Big Ideas: The Arctic Tundra and Living Things That Habitat There
Where Is It Found?
![Picture](/uploads/4/7/6/3/47633309/1403963.jpg?368)
The Arctic tundra is found almost entirely in the Northern Hemisphere (Biomes of the World, 2003). In the Southern Hemisphere it is found on isolated islands off the coast of Antarctica as well as the Antarctic peninsula (Biomes of the World, 2003). The tundra falls between two other major biomes, the taiga and ice caps (Biomes of the World, 2003). In essence the zone is controlled by the extremes in the weather (Biomes of the World, 2003). If its too cold, the ice caps don't melt enough to allow vegetation (Biomes of the World, 2003). If its a bit warmer, trees are able to send roots deep enough to allow plants to grow (Biomes of the World, 2003).
Climate
In the arctic tundra there are two seasons: winter and summer (Biomes of the World, 2003). In the summer, the sun is present almost 24 hours a day (Biomes of the World, 2003). The sun however, only warms the tundra up to a range of about 3°C to 12°C (Biomes of the World, 2003). In the winter the opposite light conditions are present; there are several weeks where the sun never rises (Biomes of the World, 2003). This causes the temperatures to drop to extremely cold levels (Biomes of the World, 2003). The average temperature of the tundra is around -28°C while extremes can dip to -70°C (Biomes of the World, 2003).
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Precipitation
Precipitation levels in the tundra are from 6 to 10 inches a year (Biomes of the World, 2003). Most of this falls as snow (Biomes of the World, 2003). In many ways this biome is a cold desert, lacking significant precipitation (Biomes of the World, 2003). However, something that many people might find unusual given the lack of rain or snow is the presence of a lot of standing water (Biomes of the World, 2003). This is the result of the permafrost (Biomes of the World, 2003). Each summer, the upper layer of land melts just enough to create small bogs and pools (Biomes of the World, 2003). The water will not soak into the ground however, because the permafrost blocks it (Biomes of the World, 2003). In the winter these pools freeze and the cycle repeats itself (Biomes of the World, 2003). Very little moisture is lost to evaporation (Biomes of the World, 2003).
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A Habitat For Many Living Things
Many different kinds of animals find a habitat in an arctic tundra. Those animals include, the emperor penguin, polar bear, killer whale, musk ox, snowy owl, arctic fox, arctic wolf, seal, rock ptarmigan, caribou, and arctic hare (Biomes of the World, 2003).
Various types of insects can be found in the arctic tundra. Some of those insects include, arctic white, arctic bumblebee, mosquito, and jutta arctic (Biomes of the World, 2003). Many different kinds of plants can be found in the arctic tundra. Some of those plants include, tufted saxifrage, arctic moss, arctic willow, bearberry, caribou moss, diamond leaf willow, Labrador tea, and the pasque flower (Biomes of the World, 2003). |
References:
Biomes of the World. (2003). The arctic tundra. Retrieved from http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/arctictundra.html on January 29, 2015
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Biomes of the World. (2003). The arctic tundra. Retrieved from http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/arctictundra.html on January 29, 2015
Image_https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205526425588668&set=a.10205264815968591.1073741828.1492685412&type=3&theater
Image_https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200471269492925&set=pb.1492685412.-2207520000.1424732771.&type=3&theater
Image_https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200222580555857&set=pb.1492685412.-2207520000.1424732772.&type=3&theater