The bare and sometimes rocky ground can only support low growing plants like mosses, heaths, and lichen. In the winter it is cold and dark and in the summer, when the snow and the top layer of permafrost melt, it is very soggy and the tundra is covered with marshes, lakes, bogs and streams that breed thousands of insects and attract many migrating birds.
The main seasons are winter and summer. Spring and fall are only short periods between winter and summer. The tundra is the world's coldest and driest biomes. During the summer the sun shines almost 24 hours a day, which is why the Arctic is also called the Land of the Midnight Sun. Summer are usually warm. The Arctic tundra is also a windy place and winds can blow between 30 to 60 miles 48 to 97 kilometers per hour. The tundra is basically like a desert when it comes to precipitation.
Only about 6 - 10 inches of precipitation mostly snow fall each year. Below the soil is the tundra's permafrost, a permanently frozen layer of earth. During the short summers the top layer of soil may thaw just long enough to let plants grow and reproduce. Since it can't sink into the ground, water from melting permafrost and snow forms lakes and marshes each summer. There is barely any vegetation in the tundra, only about 1, different species, which isn't very much.
These are mostly shrubs, sedges, mosses, lichens and grasses. There are about varieties of flowers. The growing season is only about 50 to 60 days long. There are no trees, except for some birches in the lower latitudes.
The ground is always frozen beneath the top layer of soil, so trees can't send their roots down. Warming creates potential feedback loops that encourage further destabilization of tundra ecosystems. The thin active zone of the tundra can support the growth of only mosses, lichens, and small grasses.
As this limits its biodiversity, any small change can disturb the tundra ecosystem greatly. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search.
Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Useful tips What is tundra and why is it so fragile? Invasive and Migrating Species Climate change is driving down populations of some Arctic tundra natives, such as caribou also known as reindeer , by fostering an increase in parasites and disease while damaging food sources.
But other species, such as shrubs and the wolf spider Lycosidae spp. The red fox Vulpes vulpes , which is typically found farther south, is moving north onto the tundra and competing with the Arctic fox for food and territory. Though few invasive species have yet to take root in the Arctic, climate change increases the risk this could happen. And human activity, both near and far, can change the balance: As snow geese have learned to feed on farmlands rather than in the wild on their migration routes, their exploding numbers have threatened to degrade their tundra nesting sites.
Solutions Cutting harmful, planet-warming pollution by switching away from fossil fuels is key to safeguarding Earth's tundra habitats. Other measures include creating refuges and protections for certain species and regions while limiting or banning industrial activity. The Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum of Arctic countries, has also established a working group to study and prevent the spread of invasive species in the region.
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