Alpine Tundra By: Christopher romano

Description

Alpine tundra is a biome that does not contain trees because it is at high altitude.

The high altitude causes an adverse climate, which is too cold and windy to support tree growth.

Alpine tundra transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line. With increasing elevation, The tree line ends and at higher elevation, a snow line forms.

Location

Alpine tundra occurs at high altitude at any latitude.

Examples of where an alpine tundra can occur is in the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps, and a large portion of the Tibetan Plateau.

Because the alpine zone only occurs on mountains, much of the landscape is rugged and broken, with rocky, snow capped peaks.

Climate

The average temperature of the Alpine Tundra ranges between 24.8 degrees fahrenheit and 32 degrees fahrenheit.

The average precipitation is 30 cm a year. Most of the participation comes from the snowfall.

Vegetation

Because of the high elevation in the Alpine Tundra, there are no trees that form in the tundra.

There is plant life forms close to ground and consists mainly of grasses, semi-woody shrubs, sedges, and forbs.

Food Web

The tertiary consumers in the Alpine tundra food web are coyotes, mountain lions, and the bobcats.

The secondary consumers involve the Raven, Black tipped jack rabbit, Pine marten, Western whiptail, and the Ringtail.

The Primary consumers are the Pika, Red- Breasted nuthatch, Pacific tree frog, Mule Deer, Douglas's squirrel, and Edith's checkerspot.

The primary producers contain plants, flowers, nuts, seeds, fruit and insects.

Human-Related threats

The main human threat to the tundra is global warming.

Another concern is that about one-third of the world's soil-bound carbon is in tundra is gradually getting warmer. As frozen soil thaws, its contents begin to decay, releasing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

The increase of the soil temperature would change the landscape and what species are able to live there.

There is also the exploration of oil, gas, and minerals and construction of pipelines and roads. These actions cause physical disturbances in animals habitat.

EXAMPLE: Alpine Tundra in the rocky mountains

The alpine tundra in the rocky mountains has an average temperature of 28 degrees fahrenheit. There are little to no trees in the tundra and the vegetation consists mainly of grasses, semi-woody shrubs, sedges, and forbs.

NextPrevious

Report Abuse

If you feel that the content of this page violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a copyright violation, please follow the DMCA section in the Terms of Use.