TUNDRA

Prepared by: Louie Jane T. Eleccion

OBJECTIVES
1. Define and describe the
characteristics of a Tundra Biome.
2. Enumerate the types of Tundra and
identify its origin and distribution
across the globe.
3. Explain the soil profile of Tundra.
4. Characterize some plants’ and
animals’ adaptations
5. Identify environmental threats that
detriments the biome.
TUNDRA
• Tundras are among Earth's
coldest, harshest biomes.
TUNDRA
• Tundra lands are snow-covered for
much of the year which soils thaw
to a depth of 0.5–1 m during the brief
summer growing season.
TUNDRA
• The word tundra is derived from a
Finnish word "tunturi" which means
"treeless plain".
Characteristics of Tundra
• The region has extremely cold
climate.
• There is very low diversity.
• The vegetation structure is simple.
• The season of growth and
reproduction is short.
• The drainage here is limited.
• The nutrients and the energy here is
in the form of dead and organic
3 Types of Tundra

• Arctic Tundra

• Antarctic Tundra

• Alpine Tundra
ARCTIC TUNDRA
• Arctic tundra is the world’s
youngest biome.
• It covers about 20% of the Earth's
surface, circumnavigating the North
pole.
ARCTIC TUNDRA (Cont.)
• This is found in very cold regions of
the northern hemisphere from Arctic
Circle to North Pole.
• Norway
• Sweden
• Finland
• Russia
• The United States (Alaska)
• Canada (Yukon,
Northwest Territories,
Navanut)
• Denmark (Greenland)
ANTARCTIC TUNDRA
• It is very similar to Arctic except that it’s in the
Southern Hemisphere (South pole).
• Antarctica is mainly ice and very dry, so little land
supports life.
ARCTIC VS. ANTARCTIC
ALPINE TUNDRA
• Alpine tundra can be found anywhere on Earth
and is dependent only on elevation.
• Alpine Tundra can get covered by snow for a large
portion of the year.
Alpine Glaciers in Alaska
Tundra Global Distribution (Cont.)
ORIGIN OF TUNDRA
• Evolved over the last 1.5 million years,
since Pleistocene glaciations have
depressed global temperatures.
 TUNDRA
SOIL PROFILE
PERMAFROST
SOIL PROFILE
OF TUNDRA
• Tundra soils are
formed at high
latitudes.
• It is generally
frozen, and are
classified as
Gelisols—ACTIVE
LAYER.
• Most gelisols are
black or dark
brown in soil
PERMAFROST – FACTS and THREATS!
• Permafrost contains large stores of
organic carbon that have been
locked in the permafrost for
thousands of years.

• As global temperatures rise, that

permafrost is starting to melt, raising
concerns about the impact on the
climate as organic carbon becomes
exposed.
THAWING OF THE PERMAFROST
According to researchers in the National Snow
and Ice Data Center it is estimated, that
by 2200, 60% of the permafrost in the
Northern Hemisphere will be probably
melted. This imminent danger could mean, that
around 190 billion tons of carbon could be
released into the atmosphere. This number is
probably half of all the carbon released in the
industrial age. If this happens, the atmospheric
warming could be irreversible (Miklusak, 2015).

#ThawingPermafrostMatters
ADAPTATIONS IN TUNDRA
PLANTS
VEGETATION
• There is barely any vegetation in the
tundra, only about 1,700 different species.
• The growing season is only about 50 to 60
days long.
• The ground is always frozen beneath the
top layer of soil, so trees can't send their
roots down.
• Evergreen leaves are common among
tundra plants.
• Other adaptations include sun-tracking
VEGETATION
• LICHENS – major primary producer

• MOSSES

• WILLOWS
WILLOWS
• Found both in
Arctic and Alpine
Tundra.
• Grows in acidic
and calcareous
soils.
• Arctic Willow is a
small shrub that is
well adapted to
grow in harsh
arctic conditions.
WILLOWS

• Alpine Willow is a
small bush has needle-
shaped evergreen
leaves and grows
only in peat bogs, a
vegetal ecosystem
that is cold, humid
and acid.
ANIMALS
 ARCTIC ANIMALS

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/arct
ic_animal.php
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS (Arctic Tundra)
• INSULATING FUR (White fur/Hollow hairs/with Blubber)
- Polar Bears, Arctic Wolves and Musk
• SNOW
OxenBURROWER
- Hares and Ground
• HUDDLING
Squirrels
- Hares, Ground Squirrels, Musk Oxen
• MIGRATION
- Hares, Ground Squirrels, Musk Oxen
• HIBERNATION - Most of the animals in Arctic
ANTARCTIC ANIMALS

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/ant
arctica_animal.php
ANTARCTIC ANIMALS

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/ant
arctica_animal.php
ANTARCTIC ANIMALS

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/ant
arctica_animal.php
ANTARCTIC ANIMALS

https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/ant
arctica_animal.php
ALPINE (ALP) ANIMALS

https://jayliciahatchett.weebly.com/animals-in-the-alpine.html
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS (AlpineTundra)
WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN
• During the many cold snowy months,
it has white feathers.
• In late spring, it molts or loses its
warm white winter feathers and
grows speckled grayish-brown
feathers.
• Ptarmigans need to eat lots of seeds,
flowers, plants, and insects over the
ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS (AlpineTundra)
ELK or WAPPITI
• One of the largest members of the deer
family.
• Elk can run really fast, up to 35 miles per
hour.
• In the fall (mating season), bull elk use their
incredibly large antlers to fight other
bull (male elk) for cows (female elks).
• The elk calls say, "I am here to the other
bull elk and cow elk, and I am strong and
 ANIMAL ADAPTATIONS (AlpineTundra)
ELK VELVET ANTLERS
• Antlers grow at an incredible rate of speed, and
therefore are considered the perfect renewable
resource.
• There is a fuzzy velvet on the outside of the new
antlers that help them grow.
• Velvet the outside covering of the antler which
is made of a blood filled collagenous matrix that
forms the rapidly growing antler structure.
• Velvet antler is covered in a hairy, velvet-like "skin"
known as velvet and its tines are rounded, because
ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
Other threats…

• Animal Hunting

• Plant Harvesting
SOURCES/LINKS:
• TUNDRA. (Undated). TutorVista.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018 from
https://biology.tutorvista.com/ecology/tundra.html
• TUNDRA. (Undated). Nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 26 August 2018 from
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-biome/
• TUNDRA. (Undated). Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Retrieved 26 August 2018 from
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/experiments/biome/biotundra.php
• CHO, R. (11 January 2018). “Why Thawing Permafrost Matters.” Retrieved from
https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/01/11/thawing-permafrost-matters/
• MIKLUSAK, M. (2 February 2015). “Permafrost – The Time Bomb That Could Kill Us.”
Retrieved from http://www.techandfacts.com/permafrost-time-bomb-kill-us/
• POT, J. H. (24 April 2017). “Why Is Tundra So Important?” Retrieved from
https://sciencing.com/tundra-important-5329435.html
• WOODWARD, S. L. (2012). Biomes of the World. Retrieved 26 August 2018, from the
Department of Geospatial Science, Radford University Web Site:
https://php.radford.edu/~swoodwar/biomes/?page_id=222
SOURCES/LINKS:
• MORFORD, S. (5 December 2016). “When permafrost melts, what happens to all
that stored carbon?” Retrieved from https://phys.org/news/2016-12-permafrost-
carbon.html
• O’DONNEL, J. (15 July 2013). “Tundra Animals: 6 Arctic Animals Perfectly Adapted
For Life In The Cold” Retrieved from
https://www.conservationinstitute.org/tundra-animals-6-arctic-animals-
perfectly-adapted-for-life-in-the-cold/