• Interior
• Window
• Walls
• Projects
• The buildings

Vegetation of the tundra zone. Typical plants of the tundra. Geographical location and climatic conditions of the tundra

The natural tundra zone is located mainly beyond the Arctic Circle and is limited to the north by arctic (polar) deserts and to the south by forests. It is located in the subarctic zone between 68 and 55 degrees northern latitude. In those small areas where cold air masses from the Arctic Ocean are blocked by mountains in the summer—these are the valleys of the Yana, Kolyma, and Yukon rivers—the taiga rises into the subarctic. One should separately distinguish between mountain tundra, which is characterized by a change in nature with the height of the mountains.

The word "tundra" comes from the Finnish tunturi, which means "treeless, bare upland." In Russia, the tundra occupies the coast of the seas of the Arctic Ocean and adjacent territories. Its area is about 1/8 of the entire area of ​​Russia. In Canada natural area The tundra belongs to a significant part of the northern territories, which are practically uninhabited. In the United States, tundra occupies most of the state of Alaska.

a brief description of

• The natural tundra zone occupies about 8-10% of the entire territory of Russia;
• The tundra has a very short summer with an average temperature in the warmest month, July, from +4 degrees in the north to +11 degrees in the south;
• Winter in the tundra is long and very harsh, accompanied by strong winds and snowstorms;
• Cold winds blow throughout the year: in summer - from the Arctic Ocean, and in winter - from the cooled mainland of Eurasia;
• The tundra is characterized by permafrost, that is, frozen through top level land, part of which thaws only a few tens of centimeters in summer.
• In the tundra zone there is very little precipitation - only 200-300 mm per year. However, soils in the tundra are widely waterlogged due to impermeable permafrost at shallow surface depths and poor evaporation due to low temperatures even with strong winds;
• The soils in the tundra are usually infertile (due to humus being blown away by the winds) and are very swampy due to freezing in the harsh winter and only partial warming up in the warm season.

Tundra is a natural area of ​​Russia

As everyone knows from school lessons, nature and climate on the territory of Russia have a clearly defined zonation of processes and phenomena. This is due to the fact that the country's territory extends from north to south and is mainly dominated by flat terrain. Each natural zone is characterized by a certain ratio of heat and moisture. Natural areas are sometimes called landscape or geographic.

The tundra occupies the territory adjacent to the coast of the Arctic Ocean and is the most severe inhabited natural zone in Russia. To the north of the natural tundra zone there are only arctic deserts, and to the south the forest zone begins.

The following are represented on the plains of Russia: natural areas, starting from the north:

• Arctic deserts;
• Forest-steppe
• Steppes
• Semi-deserts
• Deserts
• Subtropics.

And in the mountainous regions of Russia, altitudinal zonation is clearly expressed.

Natural areas of Russia on the map

The tundra is characterized by harsh climatic conditions, relatively low rainfall and the fact that its territory is located primarily in Arctic Circle. Let's list the facts about the tundra:

• The natural tundra zone is located north of the taiga zone;
• Mountain tundras are found in the mountains of Scandinavia, the Urals, Siberia, Alaska and Northern Canada;
• Tundra zones stretch in a strip 300-500 km wide along the northern coasts of Eurasia and North America;
• The climate of the tundra is subarctic, it is quite harsh and is characterized by long winters with polar nights (when the sun practically does not appear above the horizon) and short summers. A particularly harsh climate is observed in the continental tundra regions;
• Winter in the tundra lasts 6-9 months a year, it is accompanied by strong winds and low air temperatures;
• Frosts in the tundra sometimes reach minus 50 degrees Celsius;
• The polar night in the tundra lasts 60-80 days;
• Snow lies in the tundra from October to June, its height in the European part is 50-70 centimeters, and in Eastern Siberia and Canada 20-40 cm. In winter, snowstorms are frequent in the tundra;
• Summer in the tundra is short, with a long polar day;
• August in the tundra is considered the warmest month of the year: positive average daily temperatures of up to +10-15 degrees are noted, but frosts are possible on any day of summer;
• Summer is characterized by high air humidity, frequent fogs and drizzling rains;
• Tundra vegetation includes 200-300 species of flowering plants and about 800 species of mosses and lichens.

The main occupations of the population in the tundra:

• Reindeer husbandry;
• Fishing;
• Hunting for fur and sea animals.

The population of the tundra is limited in the choice of activities due to the characteristics natural conditions and relative isolation from large cities, as well as the population of the islands, isolated on small islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

In the Northern Hemisphere there are following types tundras with characteristic vegetation:

• arctic tundra(dominated marshy soils and moss-lichen plants);
• Subarctic tundra or typical middle tundra(moss, lichen and shrub plants, berries);
• or southern tundra (shrub plants - dwarf birch, bushy alder, various types of willows, as well as berries and mushrooms).

arctic tundra

In the Arctic, on the northern edge of European and Asian Russia, as well as in the far north of North America, there is the Arctic tundra. It occupies the coastal territory of the northern seas and is a flat marshy area. Summer there brings only a brief thaw, and plants are not found due to the too cold climate. Permafrost is covered with melt lakes of melted snow and ice. Perennial plants in such conditions are able to grow only for a short period of time - at the end of July and August, grouping in low places and protected from the winds, and annual plants do not take root here, since due to the harsh natural conditions they have a very short period of time. growing season. The predominant species are mosses and lichens, and shrubs do not grow at all in the Arctic tundra.

More southern types of tundra up to the forest-tundra zone are called Subarctic. Here, the cold arctic air in the summer gives way for a short time to more warm air temperate zone. The days there are long, and under the influence of the penetration of a warmer climate, tundra plants have time to develop. These are mainly dwarf plants that cling to the ground, which radiates a little heat. This is how they hide from the winds and from freezing, trying to spend the winter under the snow cover as if in a fur coat.

IN middle tundra There are mosses, lichens and small shrubs. Small rodents are found here - lemmings (pieds), which feed on arctic foxes and polar owls. Most animals in the tundra are covered in snowy white fur or plumage in winter, but turn brown or gray in summer. Large animals in the middle tundra include reindeer (wild and domestic), wolves, and tundra partridge. Due to the abundance of swamps, the tundra is home to a gigantic amount of all kinds of midges, which in the summer attracts wild geese, ducks, swans, waders and loons to breed their chicks in the tundra.

Farming in the subarctic tundra is impossible in any form due to the low temperature of the soil and its poverty of nutrients. The territory of the middle tundra is used by reindeer herders as summer reindeer pastures.

On the border of the tundra and forest zones there is forest-tundra. It is much warmer than the tundra: in some areas the average daily temperature exceeds +15 degrees for 20 days a year. During the year, up to 400 mm of precipitation falls in the forest-tundra, and this is significantly more evaporated moisture. Therefore, the soils of the forest-tundra, as well as the subarctic tundra, are heavily waterlogged and swampy.

Found in the forest-tundra rare trees, growing in sparse groves or singly. The forests consist of low-growing curved birches, spruces and larches. Usually the trees are far apart from each other, since they root system located in the upper part of the soil, above permafrost. There are both tundra and forest species plants.

In the eastern part of the forest-tundra there are tundra forests, characterized by thickets low growing trees. Subarctic mountain regions are dominated by mountain tundra and barren rocky surfaces, on which only mosses, lichens, and small rock flowers grow. Resin moss grows much faster in the forest-tundra than in the subarctic tundra, so there is freedom for deer here. In addition to deer, the forest-tundra is home to moose, brown bears, arctic foxes, white hares, wood grouse and hazel grouse.

Agriculture in the tundra

In the forest-tundra it is possible vegetable growing in open ground , here you can grow potatoes, cabbage, turnips, radishes, lettuce, green onions. Techniques have also been developed for creating high-yielding meadows in the forest-tundra area.

Did you know that...

In Iceland, which is entirely located in the natural tundra zone, potatoes were grown in the past and even barley was cultivated. It turned out to be a good harvest, because Icelanders are stubborn and hardworking people. But now open-air farming has been replaced by a more profitable activity - growing plants in greenhouses heated by the heat of hot springs. And today, various tropical crops, especially bananas, grow beautifully in the Icelandic tundra. Iceland even exports them to Europe.

There are also mountain tundras, which form a high-altitude zone in the mountains of the temperate and subarctic zones. They are located above the border of mountain forests and are characterized by the dominance of lichens, mosses and some cold-resistant grasses, shrubs and shrubs. There are three zones in the mountain tundra:

• Shrub belt- forms on rocky soils, like lowland tundra.
• Moss-lichen belt is located above the shrubby one, its characteristic vegetation is represented by subshrubs and some herbs.
• Upper belt mountain tundras are the poorest in vegetation. Here, among the stony soils and rocky formations, only lichens and mosses grow, as well as squat shrubs.

Mountain tundra (in purple)

Antarctic tundra

The Antarctic Peninsula and islands in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere have a natural zone similar to the tundra. It was called the Antarctic tundra.

Tundra in Canada and the USA

In the northern part of Canada and the US state of Alaska, very large areas are located in the natural tundra zone. It is located in the Arctic in the northern regions of the Western Cordillera. There are 12 types of tundra in Canada and the USA:

• Tundra of the Alaska Range and St. Elias Mountains (USA and Canada)
• Coastal tundra of Baffin Island
• Tundra of the Brooks Range and British Mountains
• Davis Strait upland tundra
• Tundra of the Torngat Mountains
• Alpine tundra of the interior
• Alpine tundra Ogilvy and Mackenzie
• Arctic tundra
• Subpolar tundra
• polar tundra
• Tundra and ice fields of the mountains of the Pacific coast
• arctic tundra

Flora and fauna of the tundra

Since the entire tundra is characterized by permafrost and strong winds, plants and animals have to adapt to life in difficult cold conditions, clinging to the ground or rocks.

Plants in the tundra have characteristic shapes and properties that reflect their adaptation to harsh continental climate. The tundra contains many mosses and lichens. Due to short and cold summers and long winters most of Tundra plants are represented by perennial and evergreen plants. Lingonberries and cranberries are examples of such perennials. shrub plants. They begin their growth as soon as the snow melts (often only in early July).

But the bushy lichen moss (“reindeer moss”) grows very slowly, only 3-5 mm per year. It becomes clear why reindeer herders constantly wander from one pasture to another. They are forced to do this not at all because of a good life, but because the restoration of reindeer pastures is very slow, it takes 15-20 years. Among the plants in the tundra there are also many blueberries, cloudberries, princelings and blueberries, and there are also thickets of bushy willow. And in the wetlands, sedges and grasses predominate, some of which have evergreen leaves covered with a bluish, waxy coating that gives dull colors.

A distinctive feature of the tundra is its large population, but small species composition of animals. This is also due to the fact that the tundra is located literally at the very edge of the earth, where very few people live. Only a few species have adapted to the harsh conditions of the tundra, such as lemmings, arctic fox, reindeer, ptarmigan, snowy owl, mountain hare, wolf, and musk ox.

In summer, a mass of migratory birds appear in the tundra, attracted by the variety of insects found in the marshy area in abundance and especially active in summer. They hatch and feed their chicks here, so that they can soon fly to warmer climes.

Numerous rivers and lakes of the tundra are rich in various fish. Here you can find omul, vendace, broad white salmon and nelma. But cold-blooded reptiles and amphibians are practically not found in the tundra due to low temperatures that limit their life activity.

Tundra partridge is one of the most famous birds of the tundra

Look interesting video about the tundra natural zone:

Tundra: flora and fauna

The tundra zone extends in the north of our country in a continuous strip from the Kola Peninsula to Chukotka. It occupies about 14% of Russia's territory. The southern border of the tundra zone in the European part of the country (except for the Kola Peninsula) and in Western Siberia almost coincides with the Arctic Circle. In Eastern Siberia it is sharply pushed to the north, and in the extreme east of the country, on the contrary, it descends far to the south, reaching the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The living conditions of plants in the tundra are quite harsh. Winter lasts 7 - 8 months, and summer is short and cool. The average temperature of the warmest summer month (July) usually does not exceed + 10 °C. The life span of plants is very short - only 3-4 months. Even at the height of summer, in July, there are frosts and snow on some days. Sudden returns of frost catch plants at a time when they are in a state of active growth and full flowering.

There is little precipitation in the tundra, usually no more than 250 mm per year. However, in cold climates this relatively small amount is more than enough. Much more water comes from the atmosphere than can evaporate from the earth's surface. Tundra soils are provided with abundant water. The bulk of precipitation occurs in the summer; in winter there is very little precipitation (about 10% of the annual amount). There are no heavy downpours; it usually just drizzles. There are especially many rainy days in autumn.

The snow cover in the tundra is very shallow - on level ground it is usually no more than 15-30 cm. It barely covers low-growing bushes and shrubs. Strong winds completely blow away the snow from hillocks and elevations, exposing the soil. The surface of the snow is constantly in motion under the influence of the wind. The mass of tiny ice crystals that make up the snow moves at high speed in the horizontal direction, exerting a strong mechanical effect on everything located above the snow cover. This powerful stream of solid ice particles can not only destroy or damage plant shoots protruding above the snow - it even grinds rocks. The mechanical effect of snow driven by strong winds, the so-called snow corrosion, does not allow tundra plants to grow any tall. The flow of ice crystals seems to trim them. Only in deep depressions, which in winter are filled to the brim with snow, can relatively tall shrubs be found (they can be as tall as a person).

Wind speed in the tundra can reach 40 m/sec. This wind is so strong that it knocks a person off his feet. In winter, the wind affects plants mainly mechanically (through corrosion). But in summer it has a predominantly physiological effect, increasing evaporation from the aboveground organs of plants.

Permafrost is widespread throughout almost the entire territory of the tundra zone. The soil thaws in summer to a shallow depth - no more than 1.5-2 m, and often much less. Below is a permanently frozen pound. Permafrost has a huge impact on tundra vegetation. This influence is mostly negative. The close occurrence of cold, frozen in ice soil limits the deep growth of plant roots and forces them to be located only in a thin surface layer of soil. Permafrost serves as an aquifer, preventing moisture from seeping down and causing waterlogging in the area. Tundra soils usually have well-defined signs of swampiness: a peaty layer on the surface, underneath a bluish gley horizon. The soil temperature in the tundra in the summer drops rapidly with depth, and this also adversely affects plant life. The surface of the vegetation cover, even well north of the Arctic Circle, can heat up in summer to + 30 °C or more, while the soil already at a depth of 10 cm is quite cold - no more than +10 °C. Thawing of tundra soils at the beginning of summer is slow, because the upper horizons are usually penetrated by layers of ice that absorb a lot of heat. Therefore, tundra plants develop in the summer under conditions of a very special light regime. The sun does not rise high, but for many days it shines around the clock. Thanks to round-the-clock lighting, plants manage to receive quite a lot of light even during a short growing season - not much less than in mid-latitudes. The light intensity in the Far North is relatively high due to the high transparency of the atmosphere. Tundra plants are well adapted to long days; they develop well under this unique light regime. Short-day plants cannot develop normally in tundra conditions.

Thus, in the tundra, among many factors unfavorable for plant life, one of the most important is lack of heat. Summer here is too short and cold, the soil thaws to a shallow depth and does not warm up well. The air in summer is also often quite cold, and only on the surface of the soil, when the sun is shining, is it relatively warm. Consequently, in the tundra only the top layer of soil and the bottom layer of air adjacent to the earth’s surface are most favorable for plant life. Both layers measure only a few centimeters. It is not surprising, therefore, that many tundra plants are very short, they are spread out on the ground, and their root systems grow mainly in the horizontal direction and almost do not go deep. In the tundra there are many plants with leaves collected in a basal rosette, creeping shrubs and shrubs. All these plants due to their short stature the best way They use the heat of the ground layer of air and protect themselves from excessive evaporation caused by strong winds.

Let's get acquainted in more detail with the flora of our tundras.

A typical tundra is a treeless space with low and not always continuous vegetation cover. It is based on mosses and lichens, against which low-growing plants develop. flowering plants- shrubs, shrubs, herbs. There are no trees in the real tundra - the living conditions here are too harsh for them. During the short and cold summer, young shoots do not have time to fully form. protective layer cover tissue, necessary for normal overwintering (without such a layer, young branches die in winter from loss of water). Conditions for overwintering trees in the tundra are extremely unfavorable: strong drying winds, snow corrosion, which systematically “cuts” young trees and does not allow them to rise above the snow.

Another important circumstance is the low temperature of the tundra soil in summer, which does not allow the roots to replenish large water losses from the above-ground part of the tree during evaporation (the so-called physiological dryness of tundra soils).

Only in the very south of the tundra zone, in more favorable climatic conditions, can individual trees be found. They grow against the background of characteristic tundra vegetation and stand quite far from each other, forming the so-called forest-tundra.

Mosses and lichens play a very important role in the vegetation cover of the tundra.

There are many types of them here, and they often form a continuous carpet over vast areas. Most mosses and lichens found in the tundra are not associated in their distribution exclusively with the tundra zone. They can also be found in forests. These are, for example, many green mosses (pleurocium, chylocomium, cuckoo flax) (lichens of the genus Cladonia (this includes deer moss and other related and similar species). However, there are also specific tundra species of mosses and lichens.

Both mosses and lichens tolerate the harsh conditions of the tundra. These short ones unpretentious plants can "overwinter under the protection of even a thin snow cover, and sometimes without it at all. The soil layer as a source of water and nutrients is almost not needed for mosses and lichens - they get everything they need mainly from the atmosphere. They do not have real roots, but develop only thin thread-like processes, the main purpose of which is to attach plants to the soil. Finally, mosses and lichens, due to their low growth, make the best use of the ground-level, warmest layer of air in summer.

The bulk of flowering plants in the tundra are shrubs, dwarf shrubs and perennial herbs. Shrubs differ from shrubs only in their smaller size - they are almost the same in height as small herbs. But nevertheless, their branches become lignified, covered on the outside with a thin layer of protective cork tissue and bear wintering buds. It is enough to draw a clear line between shrubs and shrubs difficult.

On flat areas of the tundra, where the snow cover is shallow, both shrubs and shrubs are low and do not rise above the snow. Among these plants we find some dwarf species of willows (for example, grass willow), wild rosemary, blueberry, crowberry, and dwarf birch. It often happens that shrubs and shrubs are located in the thickness of a thick moss-lichen cover, almost without rising above it. These plants seem to seek protection from mosses and lichens (in the forest the situation is completely different). Some of the shrubs and shrubs are evergreen (crowberry, lingonberry, wild rosemary), others shed their leaves for the winter (various willows, dwarf birch, blueberry, arcticus, etc.).

Almost all herbaceous plants of the tundra are perennial.

Perennial herbaceous plants of the tundra are characterized by short stature. Among them there are some grasses (squat fescue, alpine meadow grass, arctic bluegrass, alpine foxtail, etc.) and sedges (for example, hard sedge). There are also a few legumes (astragalus umbelliferum, common pennyweed, and common oleaginus). However, most species belong to the so-called forbs - representatives of various families of dicotyledonous plants. From this group of plants we can name the viviparous knotweed, the Eder's grass, the European and Asian swimworts, rosea rhodiola, alpine cornflower, woodland and white-flowered geraniums. A characteristic feature of tundra herbs is large, brightly colored flowers. Their colors are very diverse - white, yellow, crimson, orange, blue, etc. When the tundra blooms, it looks like a motley colorful carpet. The tundra usually blooms immediately, suddenly - after the first warm days arrive. And many plants bloom at the same time.

Many representatives of the tundra flora have adaptations aimed at reducing evaporation in the summer. The leaves of tundra plants are often small, and therefore the evaporating surface is small. The underside of leaves, where the stomata are located, is often covered with dense pubescence, which prevents too much air movement near the stomata and, therefore, reduces water loss.

Let's take a closer look at some of the most important tundra plants.

Dwarf birch, or dwarf birch (Vegina papa). The dwarf birch bears little resemblance to our ordinary, familiar birch, although both of these plants are close relatives ( different types of the same kind). The height of a dwarf birch is small - rarely more than half a person's height. And it grows not as a tree, but as a branchy bush. Its branches rise slightly upward, and often even spread across the surface of the ground. In short, the birch tree is truly dwarf. Sometimes it is so small that its creeping shoots are almost entirely hidden in the thickness of the moss-lichen carpet, and only leaves are visible on the surface. It must be said that the leaves of a dwarf birch are not at all the same as those of an ordinary birch. Their shape is round, and the width is often greater than the length. And they are relatively small in size - like small copper coins. Along the edge of the leaf there are small semicircular projections one after another (botanists call this edge of the leaf crenate). The leaves are dark green, glossy above, and paler, light green below. In autumn, the leaves become beautifully colored - they turn bright red. Thickets of dwarf birch are unusually colorful at this time of year; they always surprise with their bright crimson color.

Seeing a dwarf birch branch with leaves for the first time, few of us would say that it is a birch. Even if we notice earrings on a branch, it will also be difficult to determine that in front of us is a birch tree. Like the plant itself, these earrings are dwarf, very short - their length is no more than a fingernail. And their shape is not at all the same as that of an ordinary birch - oval or elongated-ovoid. When ripe, the earrings crumble into separate parts - small three-lobed scales and tiny, nut-like fruits, equipped with a narrow membranous edge. In this respect, the dwarf birch differs little from the ordinary birch.

Dwarf birch is one of the most common tundra plants. It can be found in almost the entire tundra zone. It is especially abundant in the southern part of the tundra, where it often forms thickets. In summer, deer feed on its leaves. And the local population collects larger specimens of the plant for fuel.

In the North, dwarf birch is often called dwarf birch. This name comes from the Nenets word “era”, which means “shrub”.

Blueberry, or gonobobel (Uasstsht iN§tosht). This is the name of one of the low tundra shrubs (its height rarely exceeds 0.5 m). A distinctive feature of this plant is the bluish tint of the foliage. The shape and size of the leaves are almost the same as those of lingonberries, but relatively thin and delicate. They appear in the spring and fall off by autumn. Blueberries, unlike lingonberries, are deciduous shrubs.

Blueberry flowers are inconspicuous, dim, whitish, sometimes with a pink tint. They are no larger than a pea, their corolla is almost spherical, shaped like a very wide jug.” The flowers are located on the branches so that the corolla opening is directed downwards. There are 4-5 small teeth along the edge of the hole. The denticles represent the ends of the petals (along the rest of the length the petals are fused into one whole).

Blueberry fruits are bluish, round berries with a bluish bloom. They resemble blueberries, but are larger. The pulp of the fruit is not watery, as a result this plant sometimes called crowberry.

Cloudberry (Kubus cataetoris) is the closest relative of raspberry (another species of the same genus). However, this is not a shrub, but a perennial herbaceous plant. Every spring, a short, erect stem with several leaves and only one flower grows from a thin rhizome in the soil. By winter, the entire above-ground part of the plant dies, and in the spring another shoot grows again. Cloudberries are different from raspberries in many ways. Its stems are devoid of thorns, the leaves are rounded-angular (shallowly 5-lobed). The flowers are much larger than raspberries, with five white petals pointing in different directions. Cloudberries are unlike raspberries in one more respect: they are dioecious plants. Some of its specimens always bear only male, sterile flowers, others - only female ones, from which fruits are subsequently formed. Interestingly, male flowers are larger than female ones; they can be up to 3 cm in diameter.

Cloudberry fruits are similar in structure to raspberry fruits: each of them consists of several small juicy fruits fused together into one whole. An individual fruit is somewhat similar to a tiny cherry: there is pulp on the outside and a pit on the inside. Botanists call such a simple fruit a drupe, and the entire complex cloudberry fruit is a complex drupe. Raspberries have exactly the same type of fruit.

However, according to appearance The cloudberry fruit bears little resemblance to the raspberry fruit. Its individual particles are much larger than those of raspberries, and the color of the fruit is completely different. At the beginning of ripening, the fruits are red; when fully ripe, they are orange, like wax. Ripe cloudberry fruits have a pleasant taste and are highly valued by local residents, who collect them in large quantities in the tundra. The fruits contain from 3 to 6% sugar, citric and malic acids. They are eaten mainly steamed and soaked; they are also used to make jam.

Lichen moss, or reindeer moss (C1ac1osha gangireppa). This is one of our largest lichens, its height reaches 10-15 cm. An individual moss plant resembles some kind of fancy tree in miniature - it has a thicker “trunk” rising from the ground, and thinner winding “branches”. Both the trunk and branches gradually become thinner and thinner towards the ends. Their ends almost completely disappear - they are no thicker than a hair. If you put several of these plants next to each other on black paper, you get a beautiful white lace.

Resin moss has a whitish color. It is due to the fact that the bulk of the lichen consists of the thinnest colorless tubes - fungal hyphae. But if we look at a cross-section of the main “stem” of moss under a microscope, we will see not only fungal hyphae. Near the surface of the “stem” there is a thin layer of tiny emerald green balls - microscopic cells, algae. Resin moss, like other lichens, consists of fungal hyphae and algae cells.

When wet, moss is soft and elastic. But after drying, it hardens and becomes very brittle and crumbles easily. The slightest touch is enough for pieces to break off from the lichen. These tiny fragments are easily transported by the wind and can give rise to new plants. It is with the help of such random fragments that moss mainly reproduces.

Resin moss, like other lichens, grows slowly. It grows in height only a few millimeters per year, although its size is quite large. Due to the slow growth of moss, the same tundra pasture cannot be used for several years in a row; it is necessary to constantly move to new areas. If deer in the tundra eat moss, it takes quite a long time (10-15 years) to restore the lichen cover.

Resin moss is of great economic importance. It is known to serve as one of the most important forage plants for deer in the tundra. Interestingly, deer unmistakably find it by smell even in winter under a layer of snow.

Fauna of the tundra

The fauna in the tundra is very unique and differs in some features from the animals of the Far North. They are not picky about food. Animals have thick fur, and birds have fluffy plumage. Animals change color: in summer they are light brown to match the color of the vegetation, and in winter they are white or light gray to match the color of snow.

Typical animals of the tundra are the arctic fox, lemming, reindeer, ptarmigan, polar wolf and snowy owl.

The Arctic fox hunts pieds and polar partridges. He has very valuable fur. Reindeer are not afraid of frosts and snowstorms. Wide hooves allow him to run through the snow without falling through and rake the snow in search of food.

In summer, countless mosquitoes, midges, and gadflies appear in the tundra. There are so many of them that you can’t work in the tundra without mosquito nets; they bite and get into your eyes, nose, and mouth.

At this time, many birds fly here to nest: geese, swans, ducks, waders. Many of them feed on insects.

To the south of the ice zone along the shores of the northern seas there is a tundra zone. For thousands of kilometers from west to east there is a cold treeless plain.

Winter in the tundra is long and very harsh (frost up to – 50). In the middle of winter, the polar night lasts for about 2 months. You can see auroras in the sky.

Very strong winds constantly blow in the tundra. In winter there is often a snowstorm and wind speeds reach 30-40 m per second. Throwing up clouds of snow, knocking people off their feet and overturning sledges with reindeer, a blizzard rages across the endless expanses of the tundra. It often lasts 5-6 days. Winds blow snow from the hills into ravines and river valleys, and the bare ground freezes heavily.

Corrasion is the mechanical action of snow driven by strong winds. Corrosion is a powerful stream of solid ice particles that can damage and cut off plants protruding from under the snow.

The climate in the tundra is harsh, summers are very short (2-3 months) and cool. The temperature in July does not exceed +14 C. And although the polar day sets in, there are often frosts, and sometimes even snow falls. All year round Cold winds blow in the tundra. The tundra zone has a very large extent from west to east. The vegetation cover of this zone is not the same in the western and eastern regions.

According to the nature of the landscape, tundra can be peaty, swampy and rocky. The vegetation is mainly mosses and lichens, sometimes low-growing grasses are found, and very rare representatives are dwarf birches and creeping polar willows. There are no shrubs in the tundra, they are only located on the border with the taiga zone, and to the north all vegetation spreads near the ground.

During the short summer, the surface of the tundra thaws to a depth of about 50 cm, and below (almost 500 m) there is a layer of permafrost that never thaws.

Permafrost does not allow rain and melt water to depth. And water evaporates from the surface slowly due to the low temperature. Therefore, there are many swamps and lakes in the tundra, and the soil is moist.

How are plants adapted in the tundra: dwarf forms of plants; their small leaves are often rolled up, covered with hair, and have a waxy coating; plants creep along the ground, forming cushions; roots are located close to the surface; many plants in bloom tolerate frost; bright colors of flowers attract insects; perennial plants.

The main representatives of typical tundras are sedges and mosses, forming a closed turf 5-10 cm thick. Fungi and lichens live in it, and the stems and rhizomes of flowering plants are immersed in it. The tundra is dominated by shrubs, perennial grasses, and mosses, which tolerate harsh natural conditions well.

Reindeer moss.

Green moss. Peat mosses.

Arctic red bearberry. On the right is the Cladonia lichen.

Tundra plants. 1. Blueberries. 2. Lingonberry. 3. Black crow. 4.Cloudberry. 5. Loidia late. 6. Bow of speed. 7. Prince. 8. Cotton grass vaginalis. 9. Mosquifolia sedge. 10. Dwarf birch. 11. Willow cuneifolia.

Sometimes the color of the lichen thallus depends on the color of lichen acids, which are deposited in the form of crystals or grains on the surface of the hyphae.
Most lichen acids are colorless, but some are colored, and sometimes very brightly - yellow, orange, red and other colors. The color of the crystals of these substances determines the color of the entire thallus.

And here the most important factor promoting the formation of lichen substances is light. The brighter the lighting in the place where the lichen grows, the brighter it is colored.

mushrooms

Cloudberry.

During the short months of summer, the tundra turns into a floral and berry garden. It is replete with bright corollas of petals, beads of lingonberries, cranberries, and cloudberries glow with lights, and bluish blueberries turn blue. There would not be enough population ten times larger than now to have time to collect and preserve the harvest of edible berries!

Vodyanika.

Herbaceous plants are represented by sedges, cotton grass, and cereals. A major role in the vegetation is played by dryad, or partridge grass, various types of saxifrage, various polar poppies, and forget-me-nots. One of the first to bloom is the Ice New Siversia, which is called the Arctic rose. Cotton grass.

New version icy, arctic rose.

Dryad.

Knotweed viviparous This plant has developed the ability to bear viviparity. In inflorescences, instead of flowers, bulbs and nodules develop, which can give rise to a new plant.

Veronica is gray. Phyllodoce.

Veronica is gray. Phyllodoce.

Arctic pennyweed.

What is the tundra in people's minds? The imagination begins to picture a snowy, deserted desert, or rather a steppe, only the northern one. Permafrost, or, as they now say, permafrost, does not bring the desire to visit these places. But people live here too, some lead a sedentary life, some lead a nomadic life. And our story is about tundra plants.

Geographical location and climatic conditions of the tundra

It should be noted that the tundra is not monotonous, it can be of different types:

1. Arctic.
2. Typical.
3. Forest-tundra.
4. Mountain.

The Arctic tundra is located in North America. It is characterized by strong hurricane winds, air temperatures up to -60 o C. Summer is short, only a few weeks with temperatures up to +5 o C. Permafrost does not allow melted moisture to go deep into the ground, and the tundra takes the form of a swamp with plants in the form of mosses and lichens .

The typical tundra is located south of the Arctic not only in America, but also in Russia; the climate here is somewhat milder. Winter temperature- up to -50 o C. The warm period lasts from May to October, the average temperature is +5-10 o C. Temperatures up to +25 o C can remain for several days. The earth warms up deeper, but even here there is swampiness, the presence of small streams and lakes Shrubs appear among the mosses and lichens.

Forest-tundra, accordingly, is located south of the typical tundra and is represented by a vast territory on two continents. Characterized by the appearance small trees. Temperatures range from -40 o C to +15 o C. There are many lakes here.

Climatic conditions depend not only on how many degrees north of the equator a given territory is located, they also change depending on the altitude above sea level. In other words, in mountain systems. The higher the mountains, the closer the climate is to the arctic (strong wind, low precipitation, low temperatures, except that there are not so many swamps and lakes).

What plant grows in the tundra?

Plants here are forced to adapt to harsh conditions, and they do this very successfully. The flora of the tundra has a number of distinctive characteristics:

So what plant grows in the tundra? One that meets the above characteristics, ensuring its survival in unfavorable climatic conditions.

Plant names

What plants are found in the tundra? The main representatives of the plant world are mosses and lichens. According to official data, about 200 species of lichens have been identified in Yamal. Mosses and lichens are closely intertwined with each other, making up “carpets”, usually of the same type. The most common include: green and peat mosses, moss (reindeer moss), Cladonia lichen, Arctic red bearberry. The tundra plants pictured above look like a colorful carpet.

Plant species such as cloudberry, blueberry, lingonberry, black crowberry, late Lloydia, onion, princess, cotton grass, sword-leaved sedge, dwarf birch, wedge-leaved willow and others are also widespread.

Why are plants in the tundra short?

The reason is corrosion. The word is similar to “corrosion” not only visually, but also in its essence - the desire to destroy. Strong hurricane winds in winter move blocks of ice, rock fragments, various boulders, and sand. This mass moves across the tundra at different speeds, grinding and polishing all hard objects in its path. What plants in the tundra can resist it? There is no such! Anything above the dense cover of snow is cut off and carried away.

Another argument in favor of dwarf plant species is the fact that the surface of the earth thaws no deeper than 50 cm, and then permafrost extends for 500 m. To combat wind and frost, a strong branched root system is needed, and 50 cm does not allow this.

Reindeer moss or reindeer moss

Resin moss is one of the most useful lichens in the tundra (and not only). It is a symbiosis of marsupial fungi, green algae and bacteria. It is a very strong natural antibiotic. Not picky about climate and soil. It does not tolerate pollution, so it does not grow near large cities. This perennial plant develops slowly and can be up to 500 years old. Reindeer love moss, but people often use it as medicinal plant. If reindeer pastures have been in the same place for several years, then it may take up to 15 years to grow a new reindeer moss.

Cloudberry

Even if you are unfamiliar with many tundra plants, cloudberries are likely an exception. It is a perennial herb with a bony fruit that looks similar to an orange raspberry. It is considered a valuable commercial plant. Both its leaves and flowers and fruits can be harvested. Like many tundra plants, cloudberries are a striking example of northern flora: they ripen in a short period, and the fruits are simply a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. It contains cobalt, potassium, iron, chromium, phosphorus, sodium, copper. The vitamin A content is higher than in the recognized leader - carrots, and vitamin C is higher than in an orange.

Cowberry

A small shrub plant up to 30 cm high. The berries are tart and bitter, so they are frozen and soaked, then they become sweet. Lingonberry is used as a medicinal plant. Many people are familiar with the diuretic properties of the leaves; in addition, lingonberries have anti-inflammatory, tonic, wound-healing, antipyretic, antiscorbutic, and anthelmintic properties. And that's not all. Therefore, it is harvested from May until October.

Blueberry

It is a low shrub. Blueberries are another spectacular representative of northern berries. It is a close relative of blueberries and lingonberries. It would take a very long time to describe its beneficial properties. The most common uses of blueberries are for eye, cardiovascular, stomach and intestinal diseases, as well as for diabetes. It may be easier to tell what this plant does not contain, and what diseases it does not treat.

By the way, blueberries, with their taste and medicinal qualities much loved by gardeners living in warmer climates.

Black crowberry

Crowberry, a small creeping shrub, got its name because of the color of the berries: black, crow. Another name is crowberry, as its berries are watery and sour. The branches look like fir trees due to the frequent elongated leaves. The leaves and berries are used as a medicine against headaches and scurvy.

Lloydia late

Perennial plant up to 15 cm high, moisture-loving. Another name is Lloydia alpine. It blooms in June, tolerates frosts well down to -30 o C. Decorates the tundra with its flowers.

Bow of speed

A bulbous perennial herb that grows in the tundra on swampy and moist, poor soils. Onion feathers are used in food as a seasoning, including meat dishes. Contains vitamin C, carotene, essential oil, organic acids.

Prince

There are other names for this tundra plant. For example, raspberry, polyanina, mamura, drupe, khokhlushka, midday. In all these cases we are talking about the prince. It is a herbaceous perennial shrub with multi-bone fruits. Tasty and aromatic berries are consumed fresh, as well as in confectionery products. They contain glucose, fructose, citric and malic acids, and vitamin C. Therefore, the berries are used for the prevention and treatment of scurvy and vitamin deficiency.

Cotton grass

A perennial herb that grows in the tundra in swamps and along the edges of reservoirs. Participates in the formation of peat. Blooms in early spring. Decoctions are used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, pain due to rheumatism, and also as an anticonvulsant and sedative.

Dwarf birch

It is also called dwarf birch. Dwarf birch bears little resemblance to its relative - the ordinary birch. This is no longer a tree, but a bush with several branches. The plant is found in the tundra in the form of overgrown islands. The leaves are similar to the leaves of ordinary birch, but smaller. By winter, the branches fall to the ground. The birch tree reproduces vegetatively, taking root in the area freed from moss. As a rule, these are places plucked by birds or broken by deer hooves. She also has earrings, but, ripening by August, they remain on the branches to “hit the road” in the spring.

Willow cuneifolia

The willow cuneifolia is not alone in the harsh terrain. There are also such willows: Arctic, creeping, Nakamura willow. All of them are small shrubs (60-100 cm) with creeping branches.

Red Book of Tundra

Like all places on the planet, there is a Red Book of the tundra. Plants included in it are represented by Arctic sunflower, Lapland poppy, purple heartwood, Senyavin wormwood, and Beringian primrose. What unites them? That they are rare, but not endangered. Brought to the north by some unusual event (for example, during times of natural disasters), they took root here and became hardened.

Thus, the center of distribution of the Arctic sunflower is the Mediterranean Sea, Crimea. It is assumed that it came to the north during interglacial warming. It grows on the Cape Turi peninsula, on the seashore 4 km long.

Lapland poppy - found on the Kola Peninsula and Norway, endemic. What plant in the tundra can compare in beauty with the Lapland poppy? Therefore, its numbers are rapidly declining due to people picking the flower for bouquets.

Purple core - lives on the St. Lawrence and Nunivak Islands in the Bering Strait, as well as in Alaska. It may reduce its numbers due to human disturbances of natural habitat conditions.

Senyavinskaya wormwood is a representative of Chukotka, endemic, and is considered an ancient immigrant from the American side.

The Beringian primrose, another Chukotka representative, may be reducing its numbers due to human presence.

Why does human intervention negatively affect representatives of the Red Book? Among other things, the lack of roads requires the use of all-terrain vehicles, whose tracks disrupt habitats for a long time and are visible even after several years.

Tundra soil

A story about tundra plants would be incomplete without a story about soil. It is represented by widespread gley soils consisting of clay, loam and sand. Peaty, swampy soils are often found on the plains. The humus layer is small, only a few centimeters, since due to the short summer, the processes of decomposition of organic substances are slow. Mosses and lichens often grow on rocky rocks and their weathering products. There is practically no humus in such soils. The tundra soil is very poor and oversaturated with moisture, characterized by an indefinite soil horizon due to swelling and outpouring of the soil.

As a result of climatic and soil characteristics, tundra plants have developed high viability. Some of them acquired the ability to give birth viviparously, receiving bulbs or small nodules instead of flowers, ready for further germination. There are predator plants that hunt insects. All tricks are used to complete the entire life cycle in full and in a short time, and then stick as close to the ground as possible, cover yourself with a blanket of snow and fall asleep until next summer.

Since there is little warm and sunny time, the flowering time of most plants falls on the same period. At this time, the tundra is incredibly transformed, becoming like a bright canvas with green, brown, yellow and red spots. At this time, the tundra no longer seems cold and unfriendly. And it’s hard to understand how you can not love her for such beauty!

The Karelian word “tundra” (in Finnish “tunturi”) means treeless space.

The conditions here are too harsh for trees: low temperatures, permafrost, a short frost-free period and strong winds. Only individual trees appear. Tundra vegetation consists of perennial low growing plants: mosses, lichens, shrubs, shrubs and a small number of perennial grasses. Annual plants they can't survive here. In a few cool weeks, they do not have time to go through the full life cycle - from seed germination to the formation of new seeds. In tundra perennials, wintering buds with the rudiments of leaves and sometimes buds are formed already in the fall. This allows plants to begin flowering and fruiting faster. Plants can grow in the North only because they have developed a whole range of adaptations to harsh conditions. Frost resistance is promoted by a high concentration of cell sap or the ability to harden. The cells of hardening plants freeze and thereby escape dehydration. One of the most important adaptations is short stature. Dwarf species are common both among shrubs and shrubs, and among herbs. They are spread out on the ground, the roots grow horizontally and do not go deep. By clinging to the ground, plants make the best use of the heat of the ground layer of air. In winter, dwarf growth allows it not to rise above the “blanket”. In summer, short stature protects against excessive evaporation caused by, since their speed at the surface is lower.

And tundra plants have to fight for water, despite its abundance. This is explained by the close occurrence. Cold soil in summer makes it difficult for roots to absorb moisture. The ground parts are located in the warm surface layer of air. Here conditions arise for active evaporation. Therefore, many plants have developed other adaptations in addition to short stature to conserve water. These are small leaves that reduce the evaporating surface, dense pubescence on the underside of the leaf, where stomata are located, etc. The hosts of the tundra - mosses and lichens - can winter even without snow cover. To avoid frost damage, they dehydrate in winter. These plants even cover bare rocks as they do not require soil. They absorb nutrients and water straight from the air. The vegetation cover of the tundra is heterogeneous. Biodiversity increases from north to south. There are about 50 plant species, in the north of the tundra - 100-150 species, in the south - up to 250 species. The biological mass of plants increases in the same direction. There are very few plants in Arctic deserts. These are mosses, lichens, algae, rare dwarf flowering plants - Arctic grasses, saxifrage, buttercups, polar poppy. Plants do not form a closed cover. Individual clumps are separated by extensive patches of bare soil. In the tundras, from north to south, subzones of arctic, moss-lichen and shrub tundras are distinguished. Arctic tundra is a transition zone from arctic deserts to tundra. The vegetation cover here is still sparse. Mosses and lichens predominate, with many areas devoid of vegetation. Moss-lichen tundras already have more lush vegetation. Green mosses and bushy lichens dominate. However, there are quite a lot of dwarf willows and birches, shrubs (lingonberries, blueberries, crowberries, dryads) and herbs (knotweed, Rhodiola rosea, myrtle, grasses, sedges, etc.). In heavily swampy areas, hummocky tundras with hummocks of sedge and cotton grass are typical. In the shrub tundra there is a kingdom of dwarf birch trees, willows, wild rosemary, berry bushes, and reindeer moss pastures. Single trees appear in river valleys. Forest-tundra vegetation consists of alternating areas of tundra and forest. Stripes of fairly tall trees stretch along the river valleys. In the interfluves there are low-growing, crooked birches, spruces and larches. Many trees have one-sided “flag” crowns. Forest areas alternate with shrub tundra.