Tundra Ecosystems

Where Its Located

• The tundra is located in many parts of the north part of the world. It goes from Greenland to parts of Alaska, Canada, and northern Russia.

Climate

• The climate In the tundra is extremely cold. The temperatures go from 10 to 20 degrees farienhieght and some times lower than that.

Environmental factors

• One of the environmental factors are the mountains which make it very cold. The mountains provide shade and little sunlight which make it even colder than it already is.

Environmental Factors

• Another Environmental factor is water so certain types of animals cant live in the tundra because they would have to adapt from a warm environment to a cold environment. The good things would be they can escape predators by getting in the water because there is a lot of water near. And they could get used to the cold climate because of their thick coat of fur and they like to lay in cool areas.

1st Ecosystem Issue

• The first ecosystem issue is the seas are losing ice. The scientist say that the climate was to warm during the summer season to support the ice during the period. So the ice began to melt and stir up the oceans.

2nd Ecosystem Issue

• Global Warming in another issue In the tundra area. Its an issue because of the animals will soon have to swim every where and eventually will drown.

3rd Economic Issue

• Boats Having oil leaks in the ocean. The fish in the ocean could get poisoned and die. So the animals wont have any fish to eat and will starve to death.

Calliergon

• Grows in the bottom of tundra lake beds around bogs and fens. Like all mosses it is bryophyte. They have rhizoids instead of roots. They don’t have wood stems. Their leave are so little that they are usually only one cell thick.

Bear Berry

• A low growing evergreen. The stem rises 2-8 inches off the ground. It has a thick bark with fine silky hairs all around it. It lives in cold dry areas of the Tundra. Mostly in Alaska.

Rock Willow

• The Rock willow is found in the northern part of the American tundra such as Alaska and Canada. It is about 15-20 cm in height. It has many different shapes but has long trailing branches that root where they touch the ground. The leaves are 15-50 mm in length and are dark on the bottom and lighter on the top.

Arctic Fox

• The Arctic Fox is a scavenger which makes it easy to get food. They are usually 10-16 inches long and weights about 6-12 pounds. They are usually the size of a house cat. They have short legs and a long bushy tail that they use for insulation when they lay down. In the winter their fur is white but in the summer its either blue or gray. They make their homes in burrows on frost free ground.

Snowy Owl

• The Snowy Owl is the most attractive owl. It has white feathers and large ears that are hidden under dense white feathers. They usually weight about 4-6 pounds and are 21-26 inches long. Their wing span can get up to 4.7-5.4 feet wide. The females usually lay up to 7 eggs.

Polar Bear

• The Polar Bears have 2 layers of fur that is clear (NOT WHITE) the light reflects off the fur to make it look white. Its so warm that they can over heat while they are running. Their shoulder height is 5 or more feet. While they are standing they could be 8-11 feet. The females can weight up to 770 pounds. The males can weight up to 990 lbs. They spend their time drifting on blocks of ice sleeping and eating seals.

Tundra vs. Dessert

• Differences: Tundra has snow, ice, and water. Dessert has no snow little rainfall and no water or ice. Tundra is located in the northern and southern part of the world Desserts are more in the middle of the planet. Dessert has cactuses.

• Same: They both have animals living there. They are both real and part of history. People has visited both of them. They are both interesting to learn about. They both have plants.

Beauties

• The Tundra is beautiful. How the sun shines off the ice and glistens in the water. It has qualities that not many humans have ever seen such as ice burgs ice caves that look like they are made of crystals. It has crystal blue water that no humans has ever experienced.

Animal Friends

• The animals that live there would be a great experience for the kids and family. Such as Polar Bears, Snow Owls, Arctic Fox, And the kids favorite Penguins. There are more but that’s the main ones.

Calm Nature

• The nature of the tundra is so calm it would be easy for a man to fall asleep if dressed warm. The cold isn't that bad when you look at the tundra and hear the tundra the sound of a snowy owl to your left and water to your right.

Chemistry

• Chemistry could help in the tundra to see like what is in the ice or if something was wrong with the ice they could take a sample and take it back to the lab to see what's wrong with it.

Geology

• Geology is the study of the earth and the things that apply to it. Like plants. They can study the plants in the tundra using biology to find out how they can survive in the cold climate.