Biome
Tundra
Desert and Tundra Biomes
A biome of the far north and the highest mountains, too cold for trees to grow at all, characterized by a short summer growing season and, across most of the Arctic tundra, a layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost that keeps meltwater from draining away and produces the biome's characteristic wet, hummocky ground. Vegetation is limited to low shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens close to the ground, and the animals that live here year-round, such as the gray wolf's northern populations, carry heavy insulation and, often, seasonal coat color change. Antarctica's ice-free coastal fringe, where species such as the emperor penguin breed, shares the tundra biome's cold, low-precipitation character even though it is formally its own polar desert.
Facts
Climate
Annual Precipitation (mm) Typical Low Temperature (C) Typical High Temperature (C) Connections
Demonstrates
The tundra biome sits mainly within the high-latitude auroral oval, the band where aurora is visible on the greatest number of nights per year, making it the biome most closely associated with regularly observing the phenomenon.
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Home To
Source Rough-legged buzzard (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Sarcoptes scabiei
Source Wikidata: Silene Stenophylla
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Plectrophenax nivalis
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Lepus americanus
Source Wikipedia: Snowy Owl
Source Wikipedia: Syntrichia ruralis
Stoat, Species Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Mustela erminea (Animal Diversity Web)
Source World Wildlife Fund
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Anser fabalis
Source Climacium dendroides (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Trichinella spiralis
Source Tundra swan (Wikidata)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Lagopus leucura (Animal Diversity Web)
Source Wild Yak (Wikipedia)
Source Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Lithobates sylvaticus
Source Wikipedia: Racomitrium lanuginosum
Showing 51 to 69 of 69 in Home To, page 2 of 2.
Sources
1. Tundra Biome (National Geographic Education)
National Geographic EducationTundra Biome - PrecipitationQuote, Tundra Biome - Precipitation
Tundra regions typically get less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation annually.
2. Tundra Climate (Blue Planet Biomes)
Blue Planet BiomesIntroduction
It never gets any warmer than 45 or 50° F.
Introduction
Winter temperatures don't reach above 20° F and average -20° to -30°F.
View the Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.britannica.com/science/tundra, opening definition
tundra, a major zone of treeless level or rolling ground found in cold regions, mostly north of the Arctic Circle (Arctic tundra) or above the timberline on high mountains (alpine tundra). Tundra is known for large stretches of bare ground and rock and for patchy mantles of low vegetation such as mosses, lichens, herbs, and small shrubs. This surface supports a meagre but unique variety of animals. The Finns called their treeless northern reaches the tunturi, but the concept of a vast frozen plain as a special ecological realm called tundra was developed by the Russians.
- Home To: Emperor Penguin
- Home To: Arctic Tern
View the Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Antarctic Peninsula (Wikipedia)
World Wildlife Fund
Reindeer (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Reindeer, Wikipedia intro: "Rangifer tarandus) is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe,..."View the Source Wikipedia: Snowy Owl
WikipediaHome To: Snowy Owl, Wikipedia intro: "s are native to the Arctic regions of both North America and the Palearctic, breeding mostly on the tundra. It has a number of unique adaptations to its habitat..."View the Source Wikipedia: Racomitrium lanuginosum
WikipediaHome To: Woolly Fringe-moss, Wikipedia intro: "Racomitrium lanuginosum is a widespread species of moss found in montane and arctic tundra, the genus Racomitrium is found across the Northern and Southern hemi..."View the Source Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus) (Wikipedia)
Home To: Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus), Wikipedia intro: "ies of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra. It is well adapted to living in cold environments, a..."View the Source Common snipe (Wikipedia)
Home To: Common snipe, Wikipedia intro: "inago cælestis) is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World, where it breeds in marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows. It is usually shy and well-camouflag..."View the Source Koslov's Pika (Wikipedia)
Home To: Koslov's Pika, Wikipedia intro: ") is a species of mammal in the family Ochotonidae. It is endemic to China. Its natural habitat is tundra. It is threatened by habitat loss. Kozlov's pika are h..."View the Source Wolverine
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Wolverine, Wikipedia 'Wolverine': found primarily in remote reaches of the northern boreal forests and subarctic and alpine tundraView the Source Muskox (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Muskox, Wikipedia 'Muskox': native to the Arctic (Greenland, Canadian Arctic, Alaska)View the Source Cladonia rangiferina, Wikipedia
Home To: Reindeer Lichen, Wikipedia 'Cladonia rangiferina': found primarily in areas of alpine tundraView the Source Wikidata: American Crow
Red knot (Wikipedia)
Wikidata: Silene Stenophylla
Tundra swan (Wikidata)
Brant (goose) (Wikidata)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Erethizon dorsatum
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: North American Porcupine, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: North American Porcupine, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Falco peregrinus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Peregrine Falcon, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Peregrine Falcon, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Aquila chrysaetos
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Golden Eagle, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Golden Eagle, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Bubo virginianus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Great Horned Owl, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Great Horned Owl, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Pygoscelis papua
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Gentoo Penguin, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Gentoo Penguin, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Lithobates sylvaticus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Wood Frog, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Wood Frog, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Ochotona princeps
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: American Pika, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: American Pika, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Vanessa cardui
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Painted Lady, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Painted Lady, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Panthera tigris
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Bengal Tiger, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Bengal Tiger, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Sarcoptes scabiei
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Scabies Mite, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Scabies Mite, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Trichinella spiralis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Trichinella Spiralis, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Trichinella Spiralis, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Alle alle
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Little auk, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Little auk, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Clangula hyemalis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Long-tailed duck, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Long-tailed duck, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Lepus americanus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Snowshoe hare, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Snowshoe hare, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Somateria mollissima
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Common eider, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Common eider, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Branta leucopsis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Barnacle goose, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Barnacle goose, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Calidris alpina
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Dunlin, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Dunlin, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Plectrophenax nivalis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Snow Bunting, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Snow Bunting, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Pluvialis fulva
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Pacific golden plover, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Pacific golden plover, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Anser fabalis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Taiga bean goose, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Taiga bean goose, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web: Rangifer tarandus
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Dawson's caribou, Habitat Regions, biome: tundraQuote, Home To: Dawson's caribou, Habitat Regions, biome: tundra
tundra tundra
Wikipedia: Bald Eagle
WikipediaHome To: Bald Eagle, HabitatQuote, Home To: Bald Eagle, Habitat
Upland wintering habitats often consist of open habitats with concentrations of medium-sized mammals, such as prairies, meadows or tundra, or open forests with regular carrion access.
Wikipedia: Syntrichia ruralis
WikipediaHome To: Star Moss, LeadQuote, Home To: Star Moss, Lead
It grows in tundra, coniferous forest, grassland, sagebrush steppe, and other habitat types.
Wikipedia: Cat
Home To: Domestic Cat, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Domestic Cat, Habitats
Feral cats can live in forests, grasslands, tundra, coastal areas, agricultural land, scrublands, urban areas, and wetlands.
Wolf (Wikipedia)
WikipediaHome To: Wolf, Distribution and habitatQuote, Home To: Wolf, Distribution and habitat
Wolves live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), pastures, deserts, and rocky peaks on mountains.
Rough-legged buzzard (Wikipedia)
Home To: Rough-legged buzzard, Habitat and distributionQuote, Home To: Rough-legged buzzard, Habitat and distribution
The rough-legged buzzard breeds in tundra and taiga habitats of North America and Eurasia between the latitudes of 61° (locally south to 48° in Newfoundland and 58° N in southern Norway) and 76° N.
European golden plover (Wikipedia)
Home To: European golden plover, Distribution and habitatQuote, Home To: European golden plover, Distribution and habitat
The European golden plover tends to breed in the Arctic tundra and other moorland areas, ranging as far west as Iceland, where they are called Heiðlóa, and as far east as central Siberia; the southernmost breed in Wales and Belarus, after a small breeding population on Dartmoor in southwest England became extinct in about 2010.
Great knot (Wikipedia)
Home To: Great knot, DistributionQuote, Home To: Great knot, Distribution
Their breeding habitat is tundra in northeast Siberia, Russia.
Bluethroat (Wikipedia)
Home To: Bluethroat, SubspeciesQuote, Home To: Bluethroat, Subspecies
L. s. svecica (Linnaeus, 1758) (red-spotted bluethroat), breeds in subarctic shrub tundra from Scandinavia east to western Alaska, winters in southern Asia in India, Pakistan, Middle East.
Little stint (Wikipedia)
Home To: Little Stint, NestingQuote, Home To: Little Stint, Nesting
Birds prefer to nest in low-lying areas within grassy tundra, often near wetlands .
Fieldfare (Wikipedia)
Home To: Fieldfare, HabitatQuote, Home To: Fieldfare, Habitat
It also inhabits open tundra and the slopes of hills above the tree line.
Jack snipe (Wikipedia)
Home To: Jack snipe, Distribution and habitatQuote, Home To: Jack snipe, Distribution and habitat
Their breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows with short vegetation in northern Europe and northern Russia.
Kentish plover (Wikipedia)
Home To: Kentish plover, DistributionQuote, Home To: Kentish plover, Distribution
They are known to reside and breed in multiple types of habitat, from desert with ground temperatures reaching 50 °C to tundra.
Wild Yak (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationHome To: Wild Yak, Distribution and habitatQuote, Home To: Wild Yak, Distribution and habitat
It's most common in alpine tundra with a relatively thick carpet of grasses and sedges rather than the more barren steppe country.
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Mustela erminea (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Stoat, Habitat: Terrestrial BiomesQuote, Home To: Stoat, Habitat: Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes tundra tundra taiga taiga savanna or grassland savanna or grassland forest forest scrub forest scrub forest mountains mountains
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Lagopus leucura (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: White-tailed ptarmigan, Habitat: Terrestrial BiomesQuote, Home To: White-tailed ptarmigan, Habitat: Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes tundra tundra mountains mountains
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Dytiscus marginalis (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Great diving beetle, Habitat: Terrestrial BiomesQuote, Home To: Great diving beetle, Habitat: Terrestrial Biomes
Terrestrial Biomes tundra tundra mountains mountains
Asilidae
Home To: Robber Fly, HabitatQuote, Home To: Robber Fly, Habitat
In the Northern Hemisphere, some species are even adapted to tundra.
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Papilio machaon (Animal Diversity Web)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyHome To: Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Terrestrial BiomesQuote, Home To: Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon), Terrestrial Biomes
Habitat Regions temperate temperate Terrestrial Biomes tundra tundra savanna or grassland savanna or grassland forest forest mountains mountains icecap
NatureServe Explorer: Bombus cryptarum
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Bombus cryptarum, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Bombus cryptarum, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
NatureServe Explorer: Pluvialis squatarola
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Grey plover, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Grey plover, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
NatureServe Explorer: Alauda arvensis
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Eurasian skylark, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Eurasian skylark, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
NatureServe Explorer: Larus fuscus
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Lesser black-backed gull, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Lesser black-backed gull, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
NatureServe Explorer: Charadrius hiaticula
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Common ringed plover, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Common ringed plover, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
NatureServe Explorer: Oenanthe oenanthe
NatureServe ExplorerHome To: Northern wheatear, Species characteristics: TundraQuote, Home To: Northern wheatear, Species characteristics: Tundra
"terrestrialHabitatDescEn": "Tundra"
Bar-tailed godwit (Wikipedia)
Home To: Bar-tailed Godwit, Habitat: TundraQuote, Home To: Bar-tailed Godwit, Habitat: Tundra
Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska
Plants For A Future: Lepidium meyenii
Plants For A FutureHome To: Maca, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Maca, Habitats
Barren steppes, tundra and alpine plains, usually in limestone and clay soils, 3800 - 4800 metres
Plants For A Future: Equisetum scirpoides
Plants For A FutureHome To: Dwarf Horsetail, HabitatsQuote, Home To: Dwarf Horsetail, Habitats
Tundra, mossy places, and woods. Stems often partly buried in humus. Part shade, shade; moist woods, peat bogs, shady, mossy wetlands.
Climacium dendroides (Wikipedia)
Home To: Climacium dendroides, Habitat
in alpine tundras
Home To: Tree Moss, Habitat
in alpine tundras
View the SourceDissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Description
The Koppen climate classification, the standard reference scheme this entry's own hedge implicitly gestures toward, draws a firm line this entry does not fully draw: ET (tundra) requires at least one month averaging above freezing, while EF (ice cap, sometimes called polar desert) has no month above freezing at all. By Koppen's own criteria the two are separate climate classes, not one biome with a footnote; this entry's inclusion of Antarctica's ice-free coastal fringe under Tundra, while noting in its own prose that the area is "formally its own polar desert," is the simplified convention, not the only one a foundational climate classification supports.
A dissenting reading, from Wladimir KoppenEncyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
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