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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 .
An alpine tree line is the highest elevation that sustains trees; higher up it is too cold, or the snow cover lasts for too much of the year, to sustain trees. [ 2 ] : 151 The climate above the tree line of mountains is called an alpine climate , [ 14 ] : 21 and the habitat can be described as the alpine zone . [ 15 ]
Alpine plants occur in a tundra: a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees. Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide. It transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone are known as Krummholz.
In physical geography, tundra (/ ˈ t ʌ n d r ə, ˈ t ʊ n-/) is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic tundra, [2] alpine tundra, [2] and Antarctic tundra. [3] Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses ...
According to the Holdridge life zone system, there are two mountain climates which prevent tree growth : a) the alpine climate, which occurs when the mean biotemperature of a location is between 1.5 and 3 °C (34.7 and 37.4 °F). The alpine climate in Holdridge system is roughly equivalent to the warmest tundra climates (ET) in the Köppen system.
Most of the birch is shrub-like and under 2 meters tall. About 2% of the forest features trees 8-12 meters tall, mostly in valleys in the north, east and south. Besides birch, there are some stands of rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) and tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia). Lake Skorradalsvatn, in western Iceland
Mount Elbert rises through multiple biotic zones, with alpine tundra at its peak.. The Rocky Mountains range in latitude between the Liard River in British Columbia (at 59° N) and the Rio Grande in New Mexico (at 35° N), and in height up to the highest peak, Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,400 m), taking in great valleys such as the Rocky Mountain Trench and San Luis Valley.
Alpine communities are essentially regions of Arctic tundra, or treeless tundra-like communities. These are restricted to the tops of mountains that reach above the tree line , about 1300 metres (4,265 feet).