TUNDRA BIODIVERSITY - ENVIRONMENT
News:
Tundra diversity decline seen with sea ice disappearance
What's in the news?
● Tundra
diversity, including plants, lichens and fungi, declined over a 15-year
experiment in the Arctic due to warming temperatures mediated by the
disappearance of sea ice.
Key takeaways:
● The
findings offer support for the idea that encouraging herbivore diversity in the
tundra could temper some of the impacts of climate warming.
Tundra Biome:
● Tundra
means a “barren land”. Tundra
ecosystems are treeless regions where
environmental conditions are very severe.
Characteristics:
1. Harsh climatic conditions (cold and windy):
● Winters
are long and very severe.
● Summers
are cool and brief.
2. Precipitation
- Scanty rainfall, precipitation is mainly in the form of snow.
3. Soil - Permafrost or
soil that remains frozen all year round and is also scarce of nutrients.
4. Low biotic diversity
Types of Tundra:
|
Arctic
Tundra |
Alpine
Tundra |
|
Distribution: It
extends as a continuous belt below polar ice cap and above tree line in the
northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere, it is limited to some parts
of Antarctica and Falkland islands. |
Distribution: It
is found at any latitude in a high altitude area. |
|
Examples:
Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia. |
Examples: The
Himalayas, the Alps, Tibetan Plateau, The Caucasus Mountains, the American
Cordillera etc. |
|
Flora:
Mosses, lichens, sedges, cotton grass, sedges, dwarf heath, willows, birches |
Flora:
Mosses, sedges, liverworts, grassy vegetation. |
|
Fauna:
Arctic foxes, polar bears, caribou, musk-ox. |
Fauna:
Pikas, marmots, mountain goat, reindeer, musk ox, arctic hare, caribous,
lemmings and squirrel. |