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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 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 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 .
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 greatest ecological threat facing the island is soil erosion. While 50-60% of the island was covered in vegetation at the time of human arrival, the decline to the current 25% has been the result of soil loss caused by deforestation for firewood and timber, and overgrazing by sheep. In recent years, however, the nation has pursued ...
Alpine plants are not limited to higher elevations. However, high-elevation areas have different ecology than those growing at higher latitudes. [3] One of the biggest distinctions is that the lower bound of a tropical alpine area is difficult to define due to a mixture of human disturbances, dry climates, and a naturally lacking tree line. [4]
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 ...
Terrestrial ecosystems occupy 55,660,000 mi 2 (144,150,000 km 2), or 28.26% of Earth's surface. [5] Major plant taxa in terrestrial ecosystems are members of the division Magnoliophyta (flowering plants), of which there are about 275,000 species, and the division Pinophyta (conifers), of which there are about 500 species.