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

Anterior interventricular - artery, The arterial supply is  by the right an...

The arterial supply is  by the right and left coronary arteries. In the event of sudden block of one artery the area of myocardium supplied by that artery undergoes infarction.

Divisions and representing species of the gymnosperms, Q. What are the majo...

Q. What are the major divisions and representing species of the gymnosperms? This group of plants can be separated into conifers (pine, sequoia, cypress), that have flowers cal

Which of the following statements is not true of mitosis, Which of the foll...

Which of the following statements is not true of mitosis? A. The original cell produces two identical daughter cells B. It follows duplication of DNA in the nucleus C. It involves

Define voriconazole, Define Voriconazole It is metabolized in the liver...

Define Voriconazole It is metabolized in the liver by CYP2C19, CYP2C9 and CYP3A4. CYP2C19 is genetically variant (about 3% to 5% of Caucasians and African-Americans and about 1

Population growth curve, Increase in population size is known as population...

Increase in population size is known as population growth. It depends upon number of persons added to the population and number of persons lost from the population. Addition in pop

Explain restrictive cardiomyopathy, Q. Explain Restrictive cardiomyopathy? ...

Q. Explain Restrictive cardiomyopathy? It is a systemic or idiopathic disorder of the myocardium with clinical and hemodynamic features of diastolic dysfunction, closely simula

Why nutritional care is recognized as both science and art, Nutritional car...

Nutritional care can be recognized as both a science and art. Can you tell why? It is considered as a science because the raped  advances in scientific knowledge provides all h

Nutrition, define alimentary canal

define alimentary canal

What is malnutrition, What is malnutrition? Malnutrition can be defined...

What is malnutrition? Malnutrition can be defined as a pathological condition resulting from a relative or absolute deficiency or excess of one or more of the essential nutrien

Hearing equilibrium, EQUILIBRIU M - Cristae and maculae are concerned ...

EQUILIBRIU M - Cristae and maculae are concerned with equilibrium. 1 .       DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM - Cristare detect turning or rotational movement of head ( angular ac

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