Arctic tundra, Biology

Assignment Help:

The northern most biome on our planet is the arctic tundra. It is a treeless wet circumpolar band between the polar ice caps and the forests to the south. The predominant plants are lichens, grasses, sedges and dwarf woody plants. Despite the lack of trees, animals are found on land, in air and nearby oceans. Similar communities are found at high mountains of all latitudes forming the alpine tundra. The climate is very cold with a short growing season. The soil is frozen for most part of the year and only the top 0.5 meter melts during the short summers in the arctic tundra. The permanently frozen soil below is known as permafrost. In summer you might see huge herds of caribou, flocks of waterfowls and huge swarms of mosquitoes! With such a harsh climate it is not surprising that only a few kinds of plant and animal species are found here though, in the short growing season moss, lichens, some grasses and fast growing plants dominate the landscapes. Swarms of migratory birds invade the tundra in summer to raise their young and fly south as the summers come to an end. Some of the common permanent residents are musk ox, polar bear, grizzly bear, wolves, snowy owl, arctic hare, weasels, minks, etc. Tundra is a very fragile ecosystem as the rate of organic matter decomposition is very slow. On account of harsh climate plants grow very slowly and the tundra tak es a long time to recover from any disruptions.


Related Discussions:- Arctic tundra

Define non-digestible oligosaccharides (ndo), Define Non-Digestible Oligosa...

Define Non-Digestible Oligosaccharides (NDO) Among the various food components, the best prebiotic effects seen to be exerted by the NDOs. They are oligomeric carbohydrates, wh

The neural impulse is transmitted along the axon, What is the mechanism by ...

What is the mechanism by which the neural impulse is transmitted along the axon? The neural impulse is transmitted with the neuronal membrane through depolarization of consecu

Cnidaria and protozoan, What are the advancement of cnidaria over protozoa

What are the advancement of cnidaria over protozoa

What is the evolutionary importance of pteridophytes, What is the evolution...

What is the evolutionary importance of pteridophytes? As the first tracheophytes, pteridophytes were also the first plants to extensively colonize the terrestrial environment f

What are dioxins and why they harmful for food safety, Normal 0 ...

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

Explain pollination and its types, Q. What is the pollination? What are the...

Q. What is the pollination? What are the major forms of pollination? The procedure in which pollen grains (the male gametophytes of phanerogamic plants) reach the female gameto

Describe false negaive tests, Q. Describe False Negaive Tests? When pat...

Q. Describe False Negaive Tests? When patients are found to have significant coronary narrowing and fail to have exercise induced ST depression, they have been labeled false ne

Explain the sex composition of the population, Explain the Sex Composition ...

Explain the Sex Composition of the Population? Sex composition of human population is one of the basic demographic characteristics, which is extremely vital for any meaningful

Explain complex or undefined media, Explain Complex or Undefined Media? ...

Explain Complex or Undefined Media? Here, the exact composition of the medium is not known. It contains some complex components of plant and animal extracts whose exact chemica

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd