Alpine tundra is located on mountains throughout the world at high altitude where trees cannot grow. Good journey for the granddaughter connecting to the land and culture. Biodiversity, the amount and variety of life in this tundra environment, is low because; 1. The average temperature in the tundra is around -18 degrees F. It gets much colder in the winter and warmer during its short summer. Two Types of Tundra. What tundra plants need. Specialist, Content Production. The winter lasts around 8 months and is extremely cold. Fantastic Inuit storybook filled with traditional ecological knowledge on plant medicines. I've said this before. I do like having a book for them with Inuit characters, particularly a Grandma! The growing season is approximately 180 days.
The growing seasons are short and most plants reproduce by budding and division rather than sexually by flowering. During the short Arctic summers, the tundra, covered most of the year under snow and ice, becomes filled with colourful flowers, mosses, shrubs, and lichens. Issues related to biodiversity. Friends & Following. A Walk on the Tundra by Rebecca Hainnu. They also have developed special bacteria in their gut that help them digest lichen, and their ability to use this abundant but low-nutrition food helps them survive when there is nothing else to eat. Many of the animals are migratory, whilst many tundra birds use the moss to line their nests against fiercely cold Arctic winds. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. Caribou are a good example of an Arctic animal that has adapted to its environment. Polar bears come to the tundra for the summer where they have their babies.
An example of a Tundra Food web. During the summer, the tundra will be teeming with insects. Another alternative is to migrate south in the winter, like birds do. The word tundra comes from a Finnish word tunturi, which means treeless plain or barren land. As a result of this low biodiversity, the tundra ecosystem is very fragile. Tundra and other cold environments are incredibly fragile wilderness environments where people can generally only live in low densities. For example, they have 2 layers of fur to help them with the cold. Permafrost is a layer of ground below the topsoil that remains frozen throughout the year. It's dry - The tundra gets about as much precipitation as the average desert, around 10 inches per year. The cold, brisk winds, very short growing seasons, waterlogged and seasonally frozen soils all pose challenges for the plants and animals living in the Tundra. I will be using this one in our arctic museum program!!!! A Walk on the Tundra. What plants does the tundra have. I enjoyed this book, but I am a bit worried about its audience. What are the main features of a tundra ecosystem?
For feet, Caribou also have split-hooves, like a cow. The tundra has a lot more animal activity during the summer than the winter. First published October 14, 2011. Animals will be more active, coming out of hibernation or migrating from the south. Tundra Ecosystem Food Web | Primary, Secondary & Tertiary Consumers | Study.com. To re-enable the tools or to convert back to English, click "view original" on the Google Translate toolbar. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. If producers such as moss were damaged by disease or human activity, the animals in this area would suffer greatly as food sources of plants are already in short supply because of the harsh conditions.
There are large areas of tundra in northern North America, northern Europe, and northern Asia. Some of them change coats from brown in the summer to white in the winter so they can blend in with the snow. There, Inuujaq learns that these tough little plants are much more important to Inuit than she originally believed. The tundra has two distinct seasons: a long winter and a short summer. Genre - Science/Fiction/Adventure. A plant glossary gives more detail on several of the plants that Inuujaq would have learned about and there is also a glossary and pronunciation guide for Inuktitut words. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book! What food sources are in the tundra? Tundra - Kids | | Homework Help. There are even some animals, like the caribou, which migrate south for the winter. The cold temperatures and low precipitation also mean that decomposition only happens slowly so very little organic matter is added to the soil each year. The more leaves the more they can photosynthesize which is an advantage in this cold climate with short growing season.