Polar Grasslands

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Polar Grasslands

• By Zack B. and Mike C.

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• Polar Grasslands

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Climate

• Polar Grasslands, better known as Tundra, are a
  biome that cover 10 of the earth
• The are just south of the Arctic Ice Cap
• These treeless plains are covered in snow and ice
  year-round
• In Arctic Tundra the winters are long and dark
  and have little precipitation which is always
  snow
• The only plants that live there are extremely
  hardy and as a result have a leathery feel and
  are extremely durable

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• These plants have to adapt to the lack of
  sunlight and water
• They also battle the subzero temperatures and
  high winds
• The temperature range is from -70-- 12 C but
  the peak the temperature only lasts for a couple
  weeks in the year
• 75of the year the temperature is below freezing
• The average annual temperature is -18 C(Blue
  Planet Biomes)

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• The average precipitation is 15-25.5 Cm of snow
  because it only snows in the winter
• There is a layer of frozen water that is frozen
  all year (Permafrost) (Miller, P.141)
• This permafrost is not only the groundwater in
  the soil but a layer that wavers from 7.5-25 Cm
  above the ground
• In the summer much of the permafrost above ground
  melts but it never gets to be less than 7.5 Cm
  (Blue Planet Biomes)

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• 95 of this Biomes carbon is in the soil
• Alpine Tundra differs from Arctic in that it is
  not quite extreme
• It is still above the tree line but it is also
  below the permafrost line
• Summers bring melting and the formation of bogs,
  marshes and ponds
• This occurs because the Alpine Tundra receives
  more direct sunlight
• For a few weeks in the summer, wildflowers bloom
  and herbivores such as elk mountain goats and
  sheep graze on the land (Miller, P.141)

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Organisms

• Plants Low shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses
• Herbivores Reindeer, voles, squirrels,
  lemmings, ptarmigans
• Carnivores Arctic foxes, wolves, polar bears,
  grizzly bears, snowy owls
• Insects Mosquitoes, flies, arctic bumble bees,
  grasshoppers

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Diversity

• Other organisms, such as those that live in
  tropical or temperate climates cant survive with
  the permafrost or the cold climate that persist
  year-round.
• Polar grasslands arent as diverse as other
  biomes because their consistently cold climate
  prevents a variety of creatures from living there

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Adaptations

• Most of the organisms in a polar grassland have
  some sort of method of keeping in heat, such as
  fat or fur
• Because of the lack of trees or large brush, many
  consumers can fun fast, fly, or hide in burrows
• Some organisms, such as the arctic hare and fox
  change color with the seasons, and become white
  in the winter to blend in with the snow (Arctic
  Animals)

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Biomass Pyramid
3rd Level Consumer Polar Bear
2nd Level Consumer Snowy Owl, Arctic Fox
1st Level Consumer Reindeer, Lemmings
Producers Shrubs, Grasses
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Bibliography

• "Tundra." The Free Dictionary. 2004. Farlex. 16
  Oct. 2008 lthttp//http//encyclopedia.farlex.com/p
  olargrasslandgt.
• http//www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm
• Miller. Living in the Environment. 12th ed.
• Bernie, David. "Tundra Animals." 16 Oct. 2008
  lthttp//http//www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra_ani
  mal_page.htmgt.