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The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by plants that grow close to the ground, including perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. [28] The flora is adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, and a short growing season.
Both plant species and animal species have become endangered. The Aleutian shield fern is a plant species that have been endangered due to caribou tramping and grazing, slumping from growing substrate, and human foot traffic. [9] Animal species that are endangered in the tundra include the Arctic fox, caribou, and polar bears.
The Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra ecoregion covers the coastal areas of northern including the upper half of the west coast and the upper one-third of the east coast. [1] Greenland (called Kalaallit Nunaat in the Greenlandic language). Areas inland of this strip of land are either covered in ice or bare rock.
Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra .
The southern edge of the Canadian Arctic tundra is met by an arboreal tree line - the Arctic forest tundra transition zone. In order to adapt to the extreme conditions of the Arctic, plants have: reduced leaf size to minimize water loss to wind; fuzzy hair-like structures or alternatively grow in mats to protect themselves from snow and wind damage
Arctic vegetation is largely controlled by the mean temperature in July, the warmest month. Arctic vegetation occurs in the tundra climate, where trees cannot grow.Tundra climate has two boundaries: the snow line, where permanent year-round snow and ice are on the ground, and the tree line, where the climate becomes warm enough for trees to grow. [7]
On the west coast, the relatively warmer climate supports a dwarf-scrub heath and steppe-like vegetation. The warmest and driest areas, at the head of fjords, there are sheltered areas that support scrub and low forests of green alder (Alnus alnobetula), white birch (Betula pubescens), and Greenland mountain ash (Sorbus groenlandica). [2]
The Interior Yukon–Alaska alpine tundra ecoregion (WWF ID: NA1111) covers alpine, sub-alpine, and boreal forest areas along the cordillera (chain of mountain ranges) of Interior Alaska and south-central Yukon Territory. Geologically, they are the disjunct uplands of the Yukon–Tanana terrane plus a southern extension of the Brooks Range. The ...