Biome Paper

Tundra Biome {draw:frame} {draw:frame} The arctic tundra can be found in the northern hemisphere, encircling the North Pole and extending to the coniferous forest of taiga. Some specific locations of the arctic tundra include Northern America (Northern Alaska, Canada, and Greenland), Northern Europe (Scandinavia), and Northern Asia (Siberia). The alpine tundra can be found in the mountains throughout the world at high altitudes where trees are unable to grow. They can be found in Northern America (Alaska, Canada, U.S.A., and Mexico), Northern Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden), Asia (Southern Asia-Himalayan Mountains and Japan-Mt. Fuji), Africa (Mt. Kilimajaro), and South America (Andes Mountains). {draw:frame} The average temperature of the tundra is 18°F (-28°C). In the summer the temperature can range from 37°F (3°C) to 54°F (12°C). Due to the cold weather that there is year-round, the ground is permanently frozen 10 inches to 3 feet down. This type of frozen ground is called Permafrost. The permafrost causes no trees to grow and only the low plant to grow. Although there isn’t much precipitation going on in the tundra, there is still 6-10 inches which includes mostly melted snow. Since there isn’t much precipitation, there aren’t a lot of plants or vegetation except in the summer months when the snow melts enough to let the plants grow and reproduce. Sunlight in the tundra is very limited due to the position of the sun in the sky. There can be up to 2 months of darkness. The time when the sun is out during the summer months there is only a low intensity light. The wind in the tundra usually occurs at 30 to 60 miles per hour. The soil isn’t a true soilbecause of the Permafrost developed, the freeze-thaw activity, a thin active layer, and solidification. This soil is moist and thin over the permafrost; furthermore the soil has low nutrients and is also slightly acidic. The Permafrost serves as a barrier to keep animals from

Bibliography: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php online http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm online http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/tundra.html online http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/tundra.htm online http://www.radford.edu/~swoodwar/CLASSES/GEOG235/biomes/tundra/tunill.html online http://www.ulapland.fi/home/vies/ajankohtaista/kide/Kide4_2000/Forbes.htm online http://www.scionline.org/index.php/Category:Arctic_Tundra online Towle, Albert. Modern Biology. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Austin, TX. 1999. Pages 425-426