Arctic Tundra Animals And Plants

This plant is characterized by flower.

Arctic tundra animals and plants. The tundra is characterized by permafrost a layer of soil and partially decomposed organic matter that is frozen year-round. But some animals like the caribou or musk oxen can eat the lichens and other plants. For example caribous possess hooves that are large and spreading.

The habitat has a long and brutal winter and the barren landscape provides many challenges. They are very cold and have little precipitation. In the south is the subarctic formed by the northern subzones of the circumpolar boreal forest.

The Arctic tundra plants and animals have to adapt themselves in order to survive the harsh conditions of this region. The prominent plants include varieties of mosses lichens sedges perennial grasses and cushion plants. Arctic tundra all about the arctic tundra by mercedes maine and a few.

This is why plants as well animals in the Arctic tundra biome endure its testing conditions. Only a thin layer of soil called the active layer thaws and. To the north is the Arctic proper where the vegetation is generally referred to as tundra from the Finnish word for an open rolling plain.

Due to the minimal vegetation that the tundra region offer this environment is a home to herbivores lemmings voles caribou arctic hares and squirrels carnivores arctic foxes wolves and polar bears migratory birds. The plants growing in the alpine climate and at a higher elevation above the tree line are called alpine plants. It is 20 cm long.

Balance of the body is maintained with these large hooves as the caribou. Some plants that grow in the tundra include lichen short shrubs sedges grasses flowers birch trees and willow trees. Below are some really neat facts about the arctic tundra.