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

Phylum mollusca, PHYLUM  MOLLUSCA Definition  and Introduction B...

PHYLUM  MOLLUSCA Definition  and Introduction Basically bilateral and protostomial eucoelomate  eumetazoans  whose soft body (L. Millis  or molluscum= soft) is unsegmente

Describe primitive anaerobic eukaryotic cells, Q. How can the hypothesis th...

Q. How can the hypothesis that asserts that chloroplasts as well as mitochondria were primitive prokaryotes that related in mutualism with primitive anaerobic eukaryotic cells be c

What are neurodegenerative diseases, What are neurodegenerative diseases an...

What are neurodegenerative diseases and how might they be treated? Neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and amyotrophic lateral scler

Determine nutritional requirements for space missions, Determine Nutritiona...

Determine Nutritional Requirements for Space Missions? Space exploration represents a new frontier in the nutritional sciences and humans are eating in space since Cosmonaut Yu

Explain advantages of using bacteria as a source of protein, Bacteria:- ...

Bacteria:- Advantages High yield of protein (60-80%) Can be grown on paraffin, cellulose waste and molasses. Growth rate is fast. Disadvantages  If the bacteri

Explain the concepts of brain development, Explain the concepts of brain de...

Explain the concepts of brain development Two concepts that are especially critical to understanding brain development in the very young child are: Symbolic representati

State the term - viral infections, State the term - Viral Infections A ...

State the term - Viral Infections A virus is an encapsulated aggregate of nucleic acid that may be made of either DNA or RNA. Some viruses, such as those causing poliomyelitis

Why diabetics patient should have vegetables every day, Why Diabetics patie...

Why Diabetics patient should have Vegetables every day Diabetics should have vegetables every day. Fresh vegetables are to be preferred because they have less fats and salt. Da

Explain dehydration, Explain Dehydration Dehydration is one of the anc...

Explain Dehydration Dehydration is one of the ancient food processing techniques.  Dehydration means to completely remove water under controlled  conditions, in such a way

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