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TUNDRA
The tundra can be found in the high northern areas of the world. Some plants and shrubs bloom in early autumn. During this short period of time, the blooms are brilliant. The growing season in the tundra is very short due to the frozen permafrost that only begins to thaw in mid-summer. Some prehistoric animals have been found preserved in the thick permafrost. The most common animals found in the tundra are the caribou, reindeer, and the lemming.
The tundra is the worlds youngest biome. It was founded 10,000 years ago. The tundra has icy cold winds that can blow 30 to 60 miles an hour. Burr! The tundra doesn't have a lot of precipitation. The tundra is a very hard environment to live. Tundra has miles of oil rigs, but the oil has also polluted the air, land and water. Foot and tire tracks are visible for many years after they are made. During winter it is dark for most of the day and the sun rarely shines. The tundra usually gets 6 to 10 inches of rain a year. The tundra climate mostly covers from Greenland to parts of Alaska. They are on the coast of the Artic. Tundra is like an ice desert. There are two types of tundra Artic tundra and Alpine tundra. Alpine tundra is snowy camps on the top of mountains. Tundra is one of the driest and coldest on Earth. Endangered Species Only a few hundred reindeer
survive in Finland. Attempts are being made here to protect their habitat form
commercial forestry. Recently thousands of reindeer had to be slaughtered
because of a nuclear accident at Chernobyl. The accident contaminated the tundra
plants which in turn contaminated the reindeer. Their meat was unfit for
consumption. Radioactivity may still be contained in slow growing tundra plants
and lichens for decades. Wolves have been
feared and hated by humans for thousands of years. People have killed them and
destroyed their habitat and now they are nearly extinct in Norway and Sweden.
Nobody has been attacked by a wolf since 1821. However, this does not ease the
minds of farmers who have been brought up with stories of "ravening wolves." The
total wolf population of Norway and Sweden has now been reduced to fewer then 10
animals.
Citations: Biomes Group Of The Fall. "The Tundra Biome." The World's Biome. Apr. 2004. UC Berkeley. 9 Feb. 2006 <www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/tundra.html >. Jack, David B. Google Images. 16 Feb. 2006 <http://images.google.com/images?q=artic+wolves&hl=en>. "Animal Gallery." Cliphoto.com. 2001. 1 Mar. 2006 <http://www.cliphoto.com/animal/reindeer.jpg>. "Photo.net." 1998. 9 Mar. 2006 McHugh, Tom. "Collared Lemming." MSN Encarta. 2005. Photo Researchers, Inc. 9 Mar. 2006 <http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t013/T013694A.jsm>.
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