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The Tundra & Taiga (and Alpine) Environments
Biome v. Ecosystem
A regional scale assemblage of plants and animals
A local scale set of interactions between biotic and abiotic elements
Source: http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm
Tundra
The Tundra
Tundra comes from the Finnish ‘tunturia’, which means barren or treeless land. Trees do not grow in the tundra because ?
Photo © Anna Grandfield.
Permafrost: Ground that is frozen for more than 2 years. In some places in Alaska it will be up to 700m deep, although in Siberia it can be closer to 1500m.
Describe the Location of continuous permafrost
Extent: Found in approximately 20% of the world. Permafrost is widespread in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere, where it occurs in 85 percent of Alaska, 55 percent of Russia and Canada, and probably all of Antarctica.
Source: permafrost." Encyclopædia Britannica. Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008
The Arctic tundra climate
Secondary consumers(Large carnivores/omnivores)
Polar bears, arctic wolf
Secondary consumers(Small carnivores/omnivores)
Arctic fox, snowy owl, golden eagle
Primary consumersCaribou, lemming, musk ox, arctic hare
ProducersGrasses and sedges, mosses and lichens, woody shrubs
and herbaceous plants
Caribou, for example, are remarkably well adapted to life in the far north. Caribou hooves have a snowshoe-like spread that is much wider than any member of the deer family; under each hoof is a pad that thins in winter, making the hoof sharp-edged for traction on ice. Their coats provide such efficient insulation that they remain warm until temperatures plummet below -70 F. Caribou are also able to smell and locate lichens beneath the snow and can subsist on this nutrient-poor food for some time.
http://www.nrdc.org/land/forests/boreal/page2.asp
Taiga
Alpine
What is an Alpine environment?
Describes any high mountains, but more accurately refers to areas characterized by glacial erosion with a cold but not dry climate.
What are mountains? “In general, mountains can
be said to be higher than 300 m but it is more appropriate to discuss them in terms of zones of similar altitude, slope and vegetation type.”
Alpine environments
Source: http://www.unep.fr/scp/publications/details.asp?id=DTI/0957/PA
Chamois