THE TUNDRABy: Keely, Liam, Shade and Fin

MeteorologistThe average winter temperature is -25 degrees Celsius.

In the summer it is rarely over 10 degrees Celsius. The summer only lasts 6-8 weeks. In the winter it is dark most of the time, even in the summer it is usually cloudy and overcast. The tundra is the coldest and the driest of all the biomes on Earth. There is very little rainfall in the tundra. It rains less than ten inches a year. In the summer the soil becomes very soggy from melted snow and rain. The moisture sinks into the ground, which is called permafrost. The permafrost lies six inches below the ground, and is frozen for most of the year. The top layer of the permafrost thaws, but the bottom layer of gravel and finer material stays frozen all year which keeps moisture from rain on the surface of the ground.

Botanist10 plants in the Tundra are;• Dwarf Birch• Aleutian shield fern is near extinction and it only

reaches 6 in. through its life• Cotton Grass• Labrador tea• Fireweed• Yellow Poppy• Arctic Campion• Arctic Lupine• Barberry• Cushion Plant: grow low to ground and close together

Plant LifeThe plant life in the Tundra and growth is

limited due to cool and short growing seasons. Like all plants, they need a good supply of light, air, water, and soil. They also need a good supply of Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium which is very limited in the Tundra. While water is plentiful for these plants, the warmth is around for a short period of time. Because of this, the plants grow in tight clumps, or groups.

Pictures

Cotton grass

Aleutian shield fernLabrador Tea

Fireweed

Yellow PoppyArctic Campion

Arctic Lupine Barberry Cushion Plant Dwarf Birch

3 tundra herbavores Caribou Musk ox lemmings

3 tundra carnivores Polar bear Artic fox Snowy owl

3 tundra omnivores Grizzly bear Rock ptarmigan Ruddy turnstone

Arctic hare

Abiotic Factors Fast winds Little rainfall Short summer days Long and cold winters Bad soil Permafrost

Biotic factors Plants like Heaths and mosses have to

adapt to the very long and cold winters because the sun does not come up in the winter.

Wildlife like arctic tundra animals include snowy owls, reindeer, polar bears, white foxes, lemmings, arctic hares, wolverines, caribou, migrating birds, mosquitoes, and black flies.

How the previous 2 slides effect the animals Long and cold winters help the polar

bear because camouflage in the snow. Little rainfall helps them by not melting

all of the snow when it rains.

Food chain

Abiotic/Biotic Factors Animals have to keep warm, but insects need to

develop ways to prevent freezing. Like the animals in the tundra, insects always use the sun to keep warm. Insects are also dark in color and hairy for the same reason animals are. Being small also makes it easier for tundra insects to keep warm. However, it also makes them more prone to freezing.

Sorce-thinkquest.org

Decomposers Mosses lichens fungi