"winds and cold may make tundra vegetation seem very hardy, but in some respects the tundra is very fragile. Repeated footsteps often destroy tundra plants, allowing exposed soil to blow away; recovery may take hundreds of years. Because alpine tundra is located in various widely separated regions of the Earth, there is no animal species common to all areas of alpine tundra. Some animals of alpine tundra environments include the kea, marmot, mountain goat, Bighorn sheep, chinchilla, Himalayan tahr, yak and pika. Alpine tundra Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because"
"largely devoid of poikilotherms such as frogs or lizards. Due to the harsh climate of Arctic tundra, regions of this kind have seen little human activity, even though they are sometimes rich in natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas and uranium. In recent times this has begun to change in Alaska, Russia, and some other parts of the world: for example, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug produces 90% of Russia's natural gas. A severe threat to tundra is global warming, which causes permafrost to melt. The melting of the permafrost in a given area on human time scales (decades or"
"occurs in the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt. The word ""tundra"" usually refers only to the areas where the subsoil is permafrost, or permanently frozen soil. (It may also refer to the treeless plain in general, so that northern Sápmi would be included.) Permafrost tundra includes vast areas of northern Russia and Canada. The polar tundra is home to several peoples who are mostly nomadic reindeer herders, such as the Nganasan and Nenets in the permafrost area (and the Sami in Sápmi). Arctic tundra contains areas of stark landscape and is frozen for much of the year."
"Köppen climate classification system, deserts are classed as ""BWh"" (hot desert) or ""BWk"" (temperate desert). In the Thornthwaite climate classification system, deserts would be classified as arid megathermal climates. Tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ""tundra"" comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word ""tūndâr"" ""uplands,"" ""treeless mountain tract."" There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra. The ecotone (or"
"Two zones that do not support trees are the Plains and the Alpine tundra. The Great Plains lie to the east of the Rockies and is characterized by prairie grasses (below roughly ). Alpine tundra occurs in regions above the treeline for the Rocky Mountains, which varies from in New Mexico to at the northern end of the Rocky Mountains (near the Yukon). The USGS defines ten forested zones in the Rocky Mountains. Zones in more southern, warmer, or drier areas are defined by the presence of pinyon pines/junipers, ponderosa pines, or oaks mixed with pines. In more northern, colder,"
"Soviet territory contained all the major vegetation zones with the exception of tropical rain forest. Ten percent of Soviet territory is tundra, that is, a treeless marshy plain. The tundra was the Soviet Union's northernmost zone of snow and ice, stretching from the Finnish border in the west to the Bering Strait in the east and then running south along the Pacific coast to the earthquake and volcanic region of northern Kamchatka Peninsula. It was the land made famous by herds of wild reindeer, by white nights (dusk at midnight, dawn shortly thereafter) in summer, and by days of total"
"grass, and mosses are common. Low black spruce, willows, and grasses occur on the slightly elevated areas. Plant species in the tundra are relatively slow growing, long-lived, perennial organisms devoting minimal resources to sexual reproduction and would be categorized as severe K-strategists. The majority of plant and animal activity occurs in the few months where temperatures are above freezing in the region, so a speedy reproduction cycle has been evolutionarily favored. Because of the relatively low number and activity level of animals in the tundra, most plants do not produce many seeds, and instead send runners or develop bulblets to"
"snow and ice persist through summer. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by dwarf shrubs close to the ground. The cold climate of the alpine tundra is caused by adiabatic cooling of air, and is similar to polar climate. Alpine tundra occurs at high enough altitude at any latitude. Portions of montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregions worldwide include alpine tundra. Large regions of alpine tundra occur in the Himalayas in Asia, American Cordillera in North and South America, the Scottish Highlands, the Alps, the Scandinavian mountains, Pyrenees and Carpathian Mountains of Europe,"
"treeless, marshy plain. The tundra is Russia's northernmost zone, stretching from the Finnish border in the west to the Bering Strait in the east, then running south along the Pacific coast to the northern Kamchatka Peninsula. The zone is known for its herds of wild reindeer, for so-called white nights (dusk at midnight, dawn shortly thereafter) in summer, and for days of total darkness in winter. The long, harsh winters and lack of sunshine allow only mosses, lichens, and dwarf willows and shrubs to sprout low above the barren permafrost. Although several powerful Siberian rivers traverse this zone as they"
"Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. It transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as ""Krummholz"". With increasing elevation it ends at the snow line where snow and ice persist through summer. Alpine plants are not limited to higher elevations. However, high-elevation areas have different ecology than those located at higher latitudes. One of the biggest distinctions is that the lower bound of a tropical alpine area is difficult to define due to a mixture of human disturbances, dry climates, and a naturally lacking tree line. The other major difference"
"temperature are major physical drivers of natural ecosystems. The more arid and colder conditions found at higher northern latitudes (and high elevations elsewhere) support tundra and boreal forests. The water in this region is generally frozen and evaporation rates are very low. Species diversity, nutrient availability, precipitation, and average temperatures increase as you move from the tundra to boreal forests and then to deciduous temperate ecosystems, which are found south of these Arctic biomes. Tundra is found from 55 ° to 80° N latitude in North America, Eurasia and Greenland. It can be found at lower latitudes at high elevations"
"biome and also constitute tundra. Similar to montane grasslands, polar Arctic tundra can have grasses, but high soil moisture means that few tundras are grass-dominated today. However, during the Pleistocene ice ages, a polar grassland known as steppe-tundra occupied large areas of the Northern Hemisphere. These are in the tundra biome. Also called desert grasslands, this is composed of sparse grassland ecoregions located in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome. Mites, insect larvae, nematodes and earthworms inhabit deep soil, which can reach underground in undisturbed grasslands on the richest soils of the world. These invertebrates, along with symbiotic fungi, extend"
"time forming a large ice sheet. The ice cap climate is distinct from the tundra climate, or ""ET"". A tundra climate has a summer season with temperatures consistently above freezing for several months. This summer is enough to melt the winter ice cover, which prevents the formation of ice sheets. Because of this, tundras have vegetation, while ice caps do not. Ice cap climate is the world's coldest climate, and includes the coldest places on Earth. With an average temperature of , Vostok, Antarctica is the coldest place in the world, and has also recorded the lowest temperature, . The"
"to three months of the year, with permafrost in large parts of the area due to the cold winters. Winters within subarctic climates usually include up to six months of temperatures averaging below . Tundra occurs in the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt, including vast areas of northern Russia and Canada. A polar ice cap, or polar ice sheet, is a high-latitude region of a planet or moon that is covered in ice. Ice caps form because high-latitude regions receive less energy as solar radiation from the sun than equatorial regions, resulting in lower surface temperatures. A"
"Torngat Mountains National Park Reserve was created in 2005 to preserve part of this area. The biosphere is subdivided into distinct geographical regions called biomes. Newfoundland and Labrador are divided into two biomes: tundra and taiga. Northern Labrador is part of the tundra, while southern Labrador is part of the taiga. Newfoundland is not typical of either biome, as it lacks much of the plant and animal life that are characteristic to these biomes. During the last ice age the island of Newfoundland was completely covered by glaciers and swept clean of life. Only those species which were able to"
"Kola Peninsula tundra The Kola Peninsula tundra ecoregion (WWF ID:PA1106) is an ecoregion that covers the northeastern half of the Kola Peninsula, along the coast of the White Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The maritime effects of the White Sea create a milder climate than would be expected for a region of this latitude. It is in the Palearctic ecozone, and the Tundra biome. It has an area of . The northernmost segments of this ecoregion are on the northern coast of Fennoscandia, facing the Barents Sea. The more southerly regions are the northeastern edge of the"
"Canadian Arctic tundra The Canadian Arctic tundra is a biogeographic designation for Northern Canada's terrain generally lying north of the tree line or boreal forest, that corresponds with the Scandinavian Alpine tundra to the east and the Siberian Arctic tundra to the west inside the circumpolar tundra belt of the Northern Hemisphere. Canada's northern territories encompass a total area of , 26% of the country's landmass that includes the Arctic coastal tundra, the Arctic Lowlands and the Innuitian Region in the High Arctic. Tundra terrain accounts for approximately in Yukon, the Northwest Territories, in Nunavut, north-eastern Manitoba, northern Ontario, northern"
"believed to have been the nucleation site for the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, just underneath Dome A. Very little of East Antarctica is not covered with ice. The small areas that remain free of ice (Antarctic oasis), including the McMurdo Dry Valleys inland, constitute a tundra-type biodiversity region known as Maudlandia Antarctic desert, after Queen Maud Land. There are no trees or shrubs, as only very limited plant life can survive here; the flora consists of lichens, moss, and algae that are adapted to the cold and wind, and cling to rocks. The coasts are home to seabirds, penguins, and"
"and parts of Temperate South America where the Antarctic Flora is still a major component. Four tundra ecoregions are recognized: Antarctic realm The Antarctical realm is one of eight terrestrial biogeographic realms. The ecosystem includes Antarctica and several island groups in the southern Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The continent of Antarctica is so cold and dry that it has supported only 2 vascular plants for millions of years, and its flora presently consists of around 250 lichens, 100 mosses, 25-30 liverworts, and around 700 terrestrial and aquatic algal species, which live on the areas of exposed rock and soil around"
"land mass falls into the category of ""Last of the wild."" The wildest regions of the world include the Arctic Tundra, the Siberia Taiga, the Amazonia Rainforest, the Tibetan Plateau, the Australia Outback and deserts such as the Sahara, and the Gobi. However, from the 1970s, numerous geoglyphs have been discovered on deforested land in the Amazon rainforest, leading to claims about Pre-Columbian civilizations. The BBC's ""Unnatural Histories"" claimed that the Amazon rainforest, rather than being a pristine wilderness, has been shaped by man for at least 11,000 years through practices such as forest gardening and terra preta. It should"
"which can disrupt migratory behaviour of some wildlife. The east end of the ecoregion is part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Arctic foothills tundra The Arctic foothills tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, lying inland from the north coast of Alaska. This is permafrost tundra with an average annual temperature below freezing. This is a hilly area that lies between the boggier Arctic coastal tundra to the north and the Brooks Range to the south, and stretching from the Chukchi Sea east across northern Alaska to the border with Canada's Yukon Territory. The Noatak"
"Arctic foothills tundra The Arctic foothills tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, lying inland from the north coast of Alaska. This is permafrost tundra with an average annual temperature below freezing. This is a hilly area that lies between the boggier Arctic coastal tundra to the north and the Brooks Range to the south, and stretching from the Chukchi Sea east across northern Alaska to the border with Canada's Yukon Territory. The Noatak River valley is the only forested area. The main vegetation is the scrubby cottongrass (""Eriophorum vaginatum""), stiff sedge (""Carex bigelowii"") and shrubs"
"is referred to as Alpine climate. Alpine climate can mimic either tundra or ice cap climate. On Earth, the only continent where the ice cap polar climate is predominant is Antarctica. All but a few isolated coastal areas on the island of Greenland also have the ice cap climate. Coastal regions of Greenland that do not have permanent ice sheets have the less extreme tundra climates. The northernmost part of the Eurasian land mass, from the extreme northeastern coast of Scandinavia and eastwards to the Bering Strait, large areas of northern Siberia and northern Iceland have tundra climate as well."
"desert, making it the world's driest inhabited continent. In South America, the Andes mountain range blocks Pacific moisture that arrives in that continent, resulting in a desertlike climate just downwind across western Argentina. The drier areas of the United States are regions where the Sonoran Desert overspreads the Desert Southwest, the Great Basin and central Wyoming. Since rain only falls as liquid, in frozen temperatures, rain cannot fall. As a result, very cold climates see very little rainfall and are often known as polar deserts. A common biome in this area is the tundra which has a short summer thaw"
"of nutrients, after the occurrence is thought to be a reason for an increase in plant productivity. Regions on the earth’s surface where soils are dominating the ecosystems with little to no plant cover are often referred to as “Barren”. These places are areas like deserts, Polar Regions, areas of high elevation, and zones of glacier retreat. For barren zones that are situated in mountain ranges, they are often called the ""Subnival Zone"", and are found at elevations between the upper limit of the vegetation zone and the lower limit of the ice covered zone. Subnival zones in places like"
"the Caucasus Mountains, the Rift Mountains of Africa, and a large portion of the Tibetan Plateau. Alpine tundra occupies high-mountain summits, slopes, and ridges above timberline. Aspect plays a role as well; the treeline often occurs at higher elevations on warmer equator-facing slopes. Because the alpine zone is present only on mountains, much of the landscape is rugged and broken, with rocky, snowcapped peaks, cliffs, and talus slopes, but also contains areas of gently rolling to almost flat topography. Averaging over many locations and local microclimates, the treeline rises when moving 1 degree south from 70 to 50°N, and per"
"Beringia upland tundra The Beringia upland tundra is a mountainous tundra ecoregion of North America, on the west coast of Alaska. This ecoregion consists of three separate but similar areas of the Bering Sea coast of Alaska: the hills and mountains of the Seward Peninsula; the Ahklun Mountains in the southwest; and the hilly western half of St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. All these are hilly areas climbing sometimes to steep barren mountain up to 1500m, and which still have a number of cirque glaciers. The climate varies of course from the coast to the icy peaks. The"
"western parts of the Antarctic Peninsula. In contrast with the Arctic tundra, the Antarctic tundra lacks a large mammal fauna, mostly due to its physical isolation from the other continents. Sea mammals and sea birds, including seals and penguins, inhabit areas near the shore, and some small mammals, like rabbits and cats, have been introduced by humans to some of the subantarctic islands. The Antipodes Subantarctic Islands tundra ecoregion includes the Bounty Islands, Auckland Islands, Antipodes Islands, the Campbell Island group, and Macquarie Island. Species endemic to this ecoregion include ""Nematoceras dienemum"" and ""Nematoceras sulcatum"", the only subantarctic orchids; the"
"Polar desert Polar deserts are the regions of the Earth that fall under an ice cap climate (""EF"" under the Köppen classification). Despite rainfall totals low enough to normally classify as a desert, polar deserts are distinguished from true deserts (' or ' under the Köppen classification) by low annual temperatures and evapotranspiration. Most polar deserts are covered in ice sheets, ice fields, or ice caps. Ice-free areas have no vegetation whatsoever. Polar deserts are one of two polar biomes: polar deserts and Arctic tundra. They are called polar deserts because of their flat environment. These biomes are located at"
"in these polar biomes. Polar desert Polar deserts are the regions of the Earth that fall under an ice cap climate (""EF"" under the Köppen classification). Despite rainfall totals low enough to normally classify as a desert, polar deserts are distinguished from true deserts (' or ' under the Köppen classification) by low annual temperatures and evapotranspiration. Most polar deserts are covered in ice sheets, ice fields, or ice caps. Ice-free areas have no vegetation whatsoever. Polar deserts are one of two polar biomes: polar deserts and Arctic tundra. They are called polar deserts because of their flat environment. These"
"Beringia lowland tundra The Beringia lowland tundra is a tundra ecoregion of North America, on the west coast of Alaska, mostly covered in wetland. These are areas of flat, wet, lowland on the Bering Sea coast of Alaska north as far as the Kotzebue Sound, and on the eastern coasts of the offshore St Lawrence Island and St. Matthew Island. Lakes and ponds cover almost a quarter of the area, and wetlands cover most of it. The southern Bristol Bay end of this coast receives much more rainfall than Kotzebue Sound in the north. These flat lands are mostly covered"
"shades of brown show where photosynthetic activity declined. The maps show a ring of greening in the treeless tundra ecosystems of the circumpolar Arctic—the northernmost parts of Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia. Tall shrubs and trees started to grow in areas that were previously dominated by tundra grasses. The researchers concluded that plant growth had increased by 7 to 10 percent overall. However, boreal forests, particularly those in North America, showed a different response to warming. Many boreal forests greened, but the trend was not as strong as it was for tundra of the circumpolar Arctic. In North America, some boreal"
"Baffin coastal tundra The Baffin coastal tundra is a small ecoregion of the far north of North America, on the central north coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. This is permafrost tundra with an average annual temperature below freezing. This ecoregion is a small stretch of coastal plain on the north coast of Baffin Island. The coast is rocky with many fjords carved by glaciers into the Baffin Mountains. The cold Arctic climate consists of a short summers (mean temperature 1°C) and a long, cold winter (mean temperature -22.5°C). The plant cover is sparse in the"