Tundra

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Simran Masand

The Tundras

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A Biome is a collection of ecosystems sharing common climatic conditions. A few common examples being the tundras, deserts, tropical rainforests.

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Tundra
‡ The word tundra comes from through the Russian from the from the Kildin Sami word tundar which translates to treeless mountain tract . ‡ The tundras are majorly a treeless plain where the subsoil is permanently frozen- hence the term permafrost. ‡ They happen to be the youngest of all biomes as it was formed after the retreat of the continental glaciers only 10000 years ago.

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Tundra

Alpine

Arctic

Antarctic

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Average Average Precipitation in Tundra Tundra Temperature In

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CLIMATE
35 30 Amount (mm) 30 20 25 10

20

0 1

15 -10

10 -20

5 -30

Tundras position on the January Whittakers depicts extremely February low temperatures and scanty March precipitation. The tundra is covered in April marshes, lakes, bogs and May streams during the warm June months. Generally daytime temperatures during the July summer rise to about 12 °C August (54 °F) but can often drop to 3 °C (37 °F) or even below September freezing.

Dgrees (Celcius)

0 -40

October November December

-50

Months

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Distribution
Where is it found?
The tundra ecosystems can be generally found along the upper portions of the northern hemisphere

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Productivity

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be thought

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‡ Water, temperature, insolation and nutrients can be scarce in supply. ‡ Limited supply of water is one of the limiting factors for the formation of climax communities. ‡ Permafrost, cold, high winds and little precipitation mean the growing season is only 6 weeks per year.

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Plantae in Tundra
Arctic tundra wildflowers and Calliergon giganteum, dwarfed shrubs, sedges, and perrenial forbs.

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Anamalia in Tundra
Polar bears, caribou, arctic fox, arctic hare, snowy owl, musk ox, rock ptarmigan, killer whale, sea lion, ground squirrel, lemming, seal, moose, beluga whale, red fox, gray wolf, emperor penguin, snow goose, and reindeer.

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Foodchains in the tundra

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Water Cycle in Tundra
Condensation

Evaporation Precipitation

Accumulation Snow Permafrost Soil Seepage River

Ocean

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Nitrogen Cycle in Tundra
Nitrogen Gas

Permafrost Dentrification Death and Waste Nitrates Assimilation Decomposers Amonification Nitrification Ammonia (NH3) Nitrogen Fixation

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Carbon Cycle in Tundra
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Combustion
Photosynthesis Cellular Respiration

Permafrost Death or Decomposition Soil Fossil Fuels

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Mutualism- Alga and fungus. The fungus is "fed" sugars by the photosynthetic alga and the alga receives protection from the fungus. Parasitism- liver tapeworm infects moose, caribou, and wolves. Tapeworm makes animals very ill. Commensalism- Arctic fox follows polar bear. Polar bear is the larger predator so the arctic fox follows it and eats scraps of food left behind.

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Disaster in Tundra
‡ Extreme heat waves cause fires in the arctic tundra. In Alaska several reports of wildfires have been filed and the source of these unexpected fires is extreme heat waves. Fires will destroy some of the only existing plant life in the Tundra, with the loss of plant life, herbivores in the area such as lemmings and hares will either have to relocate or they will starve. Because primary succession occurred before the forest fire, secondary succession will rebuild the area destroyed by the fire. Secondary succession begins in the soil of the destroyed are. After about a year weeds will begin to grow, after two to four years flowers will begin to grow, and after five to fifteen years seedlings and saplings will sprout. After a while the area will return to its normal conditions. Mining and oil extraction in Siberia and Canada destroy tundra. Very large amounts of methane are locked up in tundra ice in clathrates. If these are released into the atmosphere*, it will result in a great increase in the green house gas concentration. The biggest threats come from airborne pollutants, which have brought measurable levels of pollutants such as DDT and PCB's to even remote areas.

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‡ ‡ ‡

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