Tundra Features

The tundra is one of the different biomes or biotic areas that our planet has; It includes the northernmost regions of the globe and some alpine regions, that is, it is found in regions of high latitudes and altitudes. Large areas of the planet are covered with tundra, the majority being arctic regions of Canada, Russia (Siberia), Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Antarctic regions such as the Antarctic Peninsula, the Kerguelen Islands, the South Sandwich Islands, the South Georgia Islands, and coastal regions of the Antarctic continent. Likewise, there are alpine tundras on the various continents, found at high altitudes where cold and scarce fluvial rainfall predominate.

Characteristics of the biome called Tundra:

Midnight sun and six-month nights. In the Arctic and Antarctic areas of greater northern latitude or, where appropriate, greater southern latitude, the phenomenon of the so-called "midnight sun" is observed in the parts closest to the polar circle. This phenomenon is due to the tilt of the Earth's axis and the rotation with respect to the elliptical of approximately 23.27 degrees, causing the sun not to set during the summer. Therefore, at the opposite pole there is the opposite effect, with darkness during that time, reversing the "roles" every six months, that is, while at the north pole there is darkness, the south pole has the phenomenon of midnight sun and vice versa, having climatic and environmental effects in addition to influencing the habits of the animals of the place.

Weather.- Its climate is icy most of the year, even having only about a month of summer in some latitudes; temperatures range between 5 degrees Celsius and 15 degrees below zero on average, even reaching 60 degrees below zero. In addition to the low temperatures, there is little rainfall in these areas. The ground remains frozen and covered with snow or ice most of the time.

Life adaptations.- For millions of years living beings have had to evolve in order to survive the rigors of this climate and the environment; through some morphological adaptations, such as obtaining a thicker coat or layers of fat to withstand rigor from the cold, and adaptations such as hibernation or building burrows or shelters to protect themselves from predators or the rigors climatic.

Flora.- The soil is very poor and the vegetal mantle (humus) is very thin, varying in thickness with an average of five centimeters or less, but this soil allows the growth of some vegetation, especially lichens, reeds and grasses, fast-growing plants that take advantage of the few weeks of summer in these latitudes, developing and reproducing quickly. What attracts various animals that feed on these plants.

Fauna.- The fauna consists mainly of migratory animals, such as musk oxen, caribou and deer, as well as animals adapted to hibernation or that live in burrows during the longer periods cold The fauna of these regions is mainly composed of birds and mammals, which have adapted to environmental conditions and some fish from rivers, lakes and the sea. Some examples of the fauna of the tundra are: Musk oxen, wolves, lemmings, salmon, hawks, owls, foxes, hares, seals and polar bears, walruses, penguins and wolves among others, highlighting that some animals are exclusive to some regions, for example polar bears only exist in the Arctic and penguins in the Antarctic.

Some of the Characteristics that Tundra types possess:

Arctic Tundra.- The arctic tundra as its name implies is found in the arctic zone, that is, northern Europe, Asia and America and is the largest set of tundra. It encompasses vast areas of East and Central Asia (Siberia), as well as much of the territory of Canada, Alaska and Greenland, in Europe countries such as Norway and Finland have tundras in their territories more northern. Some animals live in it, such as; Musk oxen, Wolves, Lemmings, salmon, hawks, owls, foxes, hares, seals and polar bears among others.

Antarctic Tundra.- The Antarctic tundra is found on the Antarctic Peninsula and on some coasts of the continent Antarctic, as well as on the islands near the Antarctic continent and on some very australes. The vegetation consists mainly of some lichens, the fauna of this area differs from the fauna of the arctic tundra especially in some types of birds typical of this region, known by the generic name of penguins, there are several species and varieties, which feed on the fish that abound in the waters close. There are also various aquatic mammals such as seals and sea lions. In the coastal marine waters there are many animals such as whales and other cetaceans (sperm whales and killer whales), which feed on a wide variety of marine animals such as fish, krill (a very abundant species of shrimp), and some mammals and birds, in the case of killer whales that feed on some seals, penguins and wolves marine.

Alpine tundra.- The alpine tundra has the general characteristics of the tundra, such as freezing weather, little river rainfall, and short summer periods. This biome is found in high mountain areas around the world and is the one with the smallest extension. It also differs in altitude and the type of elevated terrain, in that its soils tend to be drier than those of Arctic and Antarctic tundras, although rainfall due to rain or snow is slightly higher than in the other tundras. The alpine tundra can be subdivided into two, the alpine tundra and the tropical alpine tundra, which differs in that despite the fact that the general vegetation of the tundras is small, in these areas the vegetation grows slightly higher. In this type of tundra you can find animals such as mountain deer, hares, goats and different types of birds, there are several species of raptors, for example the "break bones" and the Eagles.