Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The adversity of soil and climatic conditions proves to low production levels, as well as little biomass accumulation due to slow rates of nutrient release in cold and wet soils, specifically as a result of limited nitrogen and phosphorus (Nadelhoffer et al. 1996) Additionally, there are low temperatures and strong winds in the tundra causing most vegetation to be dominated by woody plants ...
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.
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. [1] These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. [2]
Though tundra covers only a minority of the Earth's surface (17-20%), the biodiversity of plant species is important to human nutrition. Of the 20 plant species that make up 80% of human food, 7 of them (35%) originated in this region. [13] Alpine flora at 11,500 feet (3500 m) on the Flat Tops plateau in the Colorado Rocky Mountains U.S.A
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]
The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." [15] There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, [16] alpine tundra, [16] and Antarctic tundra [17] In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow ...
Compared to the tundra, boreal forest has a longer and warmer growing season and supports increased species diversity, canopy height, vegetation density, and biomass. Unlike the tundra, which is characterized by a lack of trees and tall vegetation, [45] boreal forests support a number of different tree species. [46]
The cushion plant form is not endemic to any single area or plant family. About 338 species worldwide in 78 genera in areas ranging from Tasmania , New Zealand , and Tierra del Fuego to the arctic tundra of Svalbard have convergently evolved the same plant form in response to similar environmental conditions.