Characteristics of Tundra Permanently frozen subsoil (permafrost) Low temps Low biotic diversity Simply structured vegetation Limited soil drainage Short season for growth and reproduction of flora and fauna Majority of energy and nutrients found in the form of dead organic material Constant immigration and migration of fauna for a continually vacillating animal population Nitrogen and phosphorus are the most prominent elements

Temp of Arctic Only found in northern hemisphere Summer high temperature is 54 degrees Fahrenheit Low light freezing temps Short growing season During midsummer, 24hr sunshine supports a burst of plant growth and insect life

Temp of Alpine Found on mountains throughout the globe Growing season is days (short and intense) Night time temps are always below freezing Freezing temps is the result of high latitude

Rainfall 10 to 25cm(6-10in)

Types of Organisms Willows, sedges, grasses, mosses and lichens (dominate the vegetation) Musk-ox caribou, sheep, and goats They are migratory

Alpine Tundra Food Web SNOW LEOPARD- ALPACA-GRASS, WEED, SHRUBS WILD BOARS- ACORNS, NUTS, PECANS, ROOTS, GRASS, MUSHROOM, FRUITS, DEAD ANIMALS MICE- GRAINS, FRUITS, SEEDS DEER- WEED, HAY, GRASS, CORN MARMOTS- GRASS, FLOWERS, HERBS, SEEDS HARES- GRASS, BUDS, TWIGS, BARKS ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK-MICE-GRAINS, FRUITS, SEEDS SQUIRRELS-SEEDS, NUTS, FRUITS, FUNGI, LEAVES, TWIGS RABBITS-GRASS, FRUITS, SHRUBS WOLVES-RODENTS-GRAINS, FRUITS, SEEDS CARIBOU-LICHENS, GRASS, LEAVES, SEDGES, MUSHROOM RABBIT-GRASS, FRUITS, SHRUBS DEER-WEED, HAY, GRASS, CORN FOXES-RABBITS-GRASS, FRUITS, SHRUBS RODENTS-GRAINS, FRUITS, SEEDS FISH-ALGAE, PLANKTON, WORMS-BACTERIA, FUNGI, PROTOZOA, DECAYING ANIMALS BIRDS-SEEDS, NECTER, BERRIES, FRUITS, INSECTS-OTHER INSECTS, LEAVES, FRUITS, GRASS, DIRT WORMS-BACTERIA, FUNGI, PROTOZOA, DECAYING ANIMALS

Arctic Food Web Top 4 Carnivores: -Arctic Foxes -Polar Bears -Kittiwakes (form of seabird) -Snowy Owls Top 4 Producers: -liverworts(leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss) -grasses -Caribou mosses (looks like a foamy, gray-green spongy mass, and grows to be 1 to 4 inches high) -lichens (made up of algae & fungi)