Tundra Overview

http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/tundra.htm

The tundra ecosystem is known to be the coldest of all the biomes and is largely populated in the arctic region of the northern hemisphere, but can also occur in alpine regions, which are places of high altitudes.  A defining characteristic of the ecosystem is its vegetation, or lack thereof. Getting its name from the Finnish word for treeless plain, it is just that. The plant variety mostly consists of “willows, sedges and grasses, many in dwarf forms compared to their growth forms in warmer climes; lichens and mosses also important, particularly in the harshest climates (The Tundra Biome; Marietta College…)”. One specific characteristic of the tundra ecosystem is permafrost, which is “solid, frozen soil” (Tundra and Permafrost). The abundance of permafrost makes it hard for both vegetation to grow and for building structures to be constructed in the tundra. 

permafrost, http://bleucheesebio.blogspot.com/2011/01/eco-tourism-2-7213596n-88531177w.html

 

http://johncarlosbaez.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/melting-permafrost-part-3/

*The above consists of information obtained from the following sources:

The Tundra Biome, http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/tundra.html

Tundra and Permafrost, http://icestories.exploratorium.edu/dispatches/big-ideas/tundra-and-permafrost/

The Tundra Biome, http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/tundra.htm)