Meaning of Tundra (What is it, Concept and Definition)

What is Tundra:

Tundra is called the coldest biome on the planet that are those areas of flat land with little vegetation , whose climate is subglacial, the subsoils are frozen and there is an absence of trees.

The word tundra derives from the Russian word тундра , which means "plain without trees."

The ecosystems that make up the tundra are located at different geographical points and share very similar general characteristics.The tundras occupy approximately one tenth of the firm territory of the planet .

In the northern hemisphere the tundras meet in Siberia, northern Canada, Alaska, the European Arctic coast and south of Greenland and in the southern hemisphere the tundras are in the southernmost tip of Argentina, Chile, subantartic islands and in some areas of northern Antarctica that are close to the sea ​​level.

Hence the different ecosystems that exist in tundras have c general characteristics that facilitate their identification, among them, low temperatures, frozen soils or with thick and extensive snow layers, low vegetation, among others.

There are three types of tundras that are named as follows :

Artica: These tundras are located in the northern hemisphere and occupy an extensive territory including Canada, Alaska and Eurasia.The average temperatures are between-8 ° C and-60 ° C.

In summer a large number of migratory animals arrive due to temperatures and biodiversity.

Alpine: These tundras are found in the mountains in around the world.As a result of the heights of the mountains, trees do not grow, despite their soils if they are used to being well drained.

The lowest temperatures occur at night and are usually below 0 ° C.

Antarctica: is the least common type of tundra.It is found in the Antarctic regions, in the territory of and British overseas in the South Georginas and South Sandwich Islands.These tundras are very far from other territories, so they lack fauna.

Flora

The flora in the tundras It is scarce, there are no trees, only small-sized plants grow, ten centimeters in height, capable of withstanding the strong winds and cold of the soil, the most numerous are lichen and moss.Some plants even bloom.

The land in the tundras is not very nutritious, so there is little fertility and no abundance of vegetation.

Fauna

The animals that live in the tundras survive and they have adapted to a series of very difficult living conditions as a result of extreme temperatures, lack of rain and vegetation.

The animals that live in tundras are wolves, arctic foxes, polar bears, seals, sea lions, hares, reindeer, hawks, caribues, seagulls and, in some cases, Monterey goats.

Many of these animals they survive thanks to the thick layers of fat that they have under the skin to insulate the cold, because they build tunnels in the ground or snow to protect themselves, among others.

Characteristics of the tundra

The general characteristics of the tundras are the following:

• The soils are few fertile because of the low rainfall and the small amount of decomposed organic elements in the earth.
• The landscapes of the tundras are desert.
• When the summer season arrives, the soils become swampy by the thaw.
• There are strong and very cold winds.
• There is little flora and fauna.
• Temperatures are very low and extreme.
• Tundra soils contain the most carbon in the world, when ice melts the carbon is released in the form of carbon dioxide.
• Tundras, when these extreme conditions of low temperatures are low, prevent carbon dioxide gases from being released.Ren and defile.
• Two phenomena occur in the tundras, the polar night and the midnight sun.

Tundra climate

En tundras the average temperature is usually-28 ° C during the winter season.However, summers are different, in the tundras usually arrive during that season various migratory animals in search of food and home.