"Tundra" - this word is associated with something cold, deserted, not suitable for life.


Meanwhile, the tundra is the most interesting natural area, which is of value not only for researchers, but also for all of us - residents of the northern latitudes.

Tundra

The natural zone called tundra is located north of the taiga, where the earth never thaws. It is along the border that the tundra border passes, it is it that determines all the features of this region of the Earth. The entire tundra zone belongs to the Arctic - this is its southern part. In the Eastern Hemisphere, territories related to the tundra are in Russia and the Scandinavian countries, in the Western Hemisphere - in the USA and Canada.

The climate of the tundra is extremely harsh. Most of the year, from October to April, winter reigns here, negative temperatures are maintained. May is the spring of the tundra, September is autumn. And even in summer in the tundra, the air does not warm up to more than 10 degrees. At the same time, the snow cover in the tundra is small, which negatively affects the flora.

All life in the tundra is subject to a cold climate and the fact that the soil layer necessary for the existence of plants is very small. The local flora is low-growing plants creeping along the ground with a very limited root system. These are mainly various grasses, mosses, lichens. In the southern part of the tundra, low shrubs and miniature crooked trees appear, of which the most famous, perhaps, is the twisted Karelian birch.

Despite such difficult conditions, many animals live in the tundra. Oily, very tasty and valuable commercial fish are found in rivers and lakes. Of the mammals, reindeer, arctic foxes, wolves, foxes, and hares are common.

Some birds have perfectly adapted to life in the tundra. These include, for example, the snowy owl, white partridge and others. All animals and birds living in the Arctic have warm fluffy fur or plumage.


The tundra is of great ecological importance for the northern countries and for all mankind as a whole. Here, in particular, there are incredible reserves of fresh water, which is distributed through a network of rivers and lakes over vast territories. Unfortunately, human economic activity, including the development of oil and gas fields, has put the ecological situation, as well as the life of the indigenous peoples of the tundra, on the brink of disaster.

Forest-tundra subzone

To the south of the tundra is a transitional zone - the forest-tundra. Some researchers attribute it to the tundra, others to the taiga, but everyone agrees that this zone has its own significant features.

From the Kola Peninsula to the Indigirka River, the forest-tundra stretches in a continuous strip, then in fragments. Vast expanses of forest-tundra are occupied by lakes and swamps - these are the greatest reserves of fresh water on the planet.

The flora and fauna of the forest-tundra is richer than in the tundra, since it is somewhat warmer here. Along with grasses and mosses, shrubs (polar willows), various types of birches, firs, and larches are found in this zone. A special variety of plants is noted along the river valleys, which warm the earth and protect living things from the cold breath of the Arctic. Mushrooms and berries grow in abundance in the forest-tundra, which are the most important component of nutrition for the peoples inhabiting these territories.

The forest-tundra is inhabited by the same animals that are found in the tundra. These are reindeer, arctic foxes, lemings, foxes, partridges, polar owls. The forest-tundra is a true paradise for migratory birds, who spend their short summers here and breed their chicks.

Indigenous peoples are engaged in reindeer herding and fishing. In some areas, forest-tundra lands can also be used for agriculture. Greenhouse cultivation of plants is practiced here, as well as some unpretentious garden plants are cultivated in the open field.


Modern civilization has also stepped into the forest-tundra. Indeed, in this zone are located the richest deposits of oil, gas and other minerals. Industrial human activity has not had the best effect on the environmental situation, which is the subject of concern for environmental organizations and society as a whole.

I continue the started series of blogs about natural areas of the world.

Part one, dedicated to the Arctic deserts here: http://website/index-1334820460.php

From the zone of the Arctic deserts we will move south. The heat in the lenty period of the year becomes more, temperatures rise, and the duration of summer increases. Where a dense vegetation cover appears, the tundra zone begins.

The word "tundra" is translated from Finnish as "open, treeless place." Indeed, a distinctive feature of the tundra is the lack of forest vegetation.

1 Tundra. From October to May, bitter frosts reign here. The low sun often "puts on mittens" - an optical phenomenon "halo" is formed, when it seems that three suns shine in a frosty sky.

The tundras are located within the subarctic climate zone, that is, arctic air masses dominate here in winter, and moderate air masses in summer. The average temperature of the warmest month of the year is August +5-+10°C. The annual precipitation is 200-300 mm in the north and 400 mm in the south (in Tomsk about 500 mm/year). Snow lies for 280 days and has a thickness of 30-60 cm. Precipitation falls more than it can evaporate and therefore the soils are constantly waterlogged. It is for this reason that swamps are widespread in the tundra, and the lake surface can reach 50%. In summer, the soils thaw to a depth of 2.5 m.

2

Within Russia, the tundra occupies the southern island of Novaya Zemlya, the Bely, Vaigach, Kolguev Islands, as well as the entire continental coast north of the Arctic Circle. The southern border runs south of the Arctic Circle and descends to the south only within Western Siberia. It goes along the line Murmansk - the coast of the Kola Peninsula - the south of the Kamen Peninsula - Naryan-Mar - south of the New Port - north of Dudinka, then along the lower reaches of the Khatanga River basin - Olenek - Lena - Yana - Indigirka - Kolyma. Only in the extreme east the tundra occupies a plain in the region of the river. Anadyr and almost meridionally descends to the south to 60 ° N. latitude.

3 Thermokarst polygons on the surface of the tundra

Within the borders of Foreign Europe, the tundra is widespread in Iceland, in the north of Finland and in Norway up to 65 degrees north latitude.

In North America, the southern border of the tundra approximately coincides with the Arctic Circle (66.5 degrees N), and only in the Hudson Bay region does it drop to a latitude of 55 degrees (Tomsk is located at 56 degrees N, by the way. Who are we? complains about the climate of Western Siberia???). Such an anomalous distribution of the tundra is explained by the presence of the cold Hudson Bay, which protrudes into the land from the north, which is sometimes called the "ice bag" in the literature. It cools the air masses and greatly reduces the temperatures of the summer months. In conditions of flat terrain, the cooling effect of the Hudson Bay can be traced for many hundreds of kilometers.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the tundras are weakly expressed - only on Tierra del Fuego and on the Antarctic Peninsula there are insignificant areas occupied by tundra vegetation.

4 Natural areas of the world. Tundra is marked in purple (second from the top in the map legend)

5. Iceland in summer

6. Iceland. Tundra can be like that.

7. North America. Hudson Bay in September

8 The Hudson Bay Coast in Summer

9 The coast of Hudson's Bay in early winter

Due to uneven thawing of the soil in tundra conditions, specific forms of relief develop: solifluction (slow runoff of waterlogged and watered soils under the action of gravity), thermokarst (subsidence of soils due to thawing of permafrost with increasing temperature and the formation of funnels), heaving mounds (they same pingo, they are also bulgunnyakhi..php, Fig. 18,19), etc. You can read a couple of lectures about these landforms.

10. Actually, everything is signed. Pay attention to solifluction (d), cellular structures (e), polygonal soils (h)

11. Solifluction. Gray tones show flooded, melted soils. Burgundy-red-pink tones - frozen soils. Under the influence of gravity, the upper layers of the soil slide down.

12. Thermokarst lakes on the Yamal Peninsula (north of the West Siberian Plain, Russia). In short, they are formed as follows: in a certain place, the soil melts faster than in the adjacent territory, water accumulates, which seeps into the frozen soil. Under the action of water, the soil melts, soil subsidence occurs. The cavity is filled with water. The thermokarst lake is ready. Often such lakes have a regular round shape.

13. Thermokarst

14. Polygonal soils

15. In the foreground, cellular forms of soil. Landfills overgrown with moss and lichen are surrounded by stony placers. from above, such cells look like a honeycomb. Formed due to uneven heating of soils.

Climatically, the southern boundary of the tundra coincides with the isotherm of 10°C. This isotherm is the boundary for the spread of woody vegetation to the north. If the temperature of the warmest month of the year is below +10, then trees cannot grow.

Tundra landscapes develop in conditions of polar day and night, permafrost, which occurs almost on the surface. Because of this, the vegetation cover is monotonous, poor, dominated by mosses, lichens, shrubs, grasses and sedges. Vegetation responds to even a slight increase in heat.

The vegetation of the tundra is cold-resistant. It can tolerate winter temperatures down to -60° C, summer temperatures -7° and below. Vegetation is characterized by a large age with small sizes. For example, lingonberries can live as long as oak, dwarf birch lives for 80 years, dryad - more than 100 years, wild rosemary - 95.

16. Lingonberry

17. Dwarf birch in autumn

18. Dwarf birch. Notice how she pressed herself against the stone. The fact is that the stone protects it from the wind constantly blowing in the tundra. In addition, the stone quickly heats up in the sun. The birch is warming up =)

19. Ledum. A plant that deserves its own blog. It contains essential oil, which has a nerve-paralytic effect, causes headaches, nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness. It is used in leather dressing and soap making. It serves as a remedy for bloodsuckers (the main thing is not to die along with mosquitoes) and moths. Bees collect the so-called "drunk" honey from wild rosemary, which is poisonous to humans. The bees themselves eat it without much harm to health.

Vegetation is characterized by "live birth". For example, in the arctic bluegrass and in the pike, onions ripen on the branches, which fall into the ground with an already formed root system and leaves.

20. Arctic bluegrass

Plants are characterized by dwarfism, tk. the temperature near the ground is much higher than at a height of 1 m above the ground.

In the tundra there are many downy plants and plants with a wax coating on the leaves (for example, lingonberries). Such devices allow not only to keep warm, but also protect against burns from excessive UV radiation during the polar day.

The tundra has three subzones: arctic, typical and southern.

Arctic tundra. Snow in such a tundra can fall at any time of the year and day. Mosses and lichens completely dominate here. Cereals, polar poppy and saxifrage appear. The land is covered with vegetation by 60%.

21. Arctic tundra

22. Polar poppy

23. Saxifrage

typical tundra-moss-shrub. Dwarf willow, birch are characteristic. Vast expanses appear in the east of Russia, overgrown with elfin cedar. In the swamps, there are lingonberries, blueberries, cranberries, wild rosemary. Mosses, lichens. Widespread crowberry. An interesting dryad (partridge grass) is a creeping evergreen plant - the leaves are leathery, shiny, pubescent from below, and the flower looks like a camomile.

24. Typical tundra and reindeer grazing.

25 Siberian pine is typical of the tundra of Eastern Siberia and the Far East

26 Blueberry

27 Cranberry

28 Moss moss lichen (reindeer moss). It is quite edible, although when cooked it tastes like a sponge for washing dishes - completely tasteless. A decoction of reindeer moss is recommended to drink when coughing.

29 Green - cuckoo flax moss.

30 Crowberry (she is a crow, she is a shiksha). Edible.

31 Dryad (partridge grass) Named after the forest nymph Dryad. The Greek word "dryad" itself means "tree, oak". The dryad's leaves are similar to oak, so Karl Linnaeus did not think for a long time what to call this northern plant. So to the question "do oaks grow in the tundra?" Greeks can safely answer that they are growing. All other nationalities should answer this question in the negative.

Southern tundra. It is characterized by a powerful dense shrub layer, and in the river valleys - woody vegetation. In Europe, birch appears in river valleys, spruce in Western Siberia, larch in Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

32 Southern tundra.Red-orange bushes are a dwarf birch.

33 Southern tundra. Peninsula Taimyr. larch branch in the foreground

The fauna of the tundra is not particularly rich. Of the permanent inhabitants of the tundra, one can name the lemming, arctic fox, reindeer, polar wolf. In North America, the natural inhabitant of the tundra is the musk ox. In Russia, musk oxen were completely exterminated already in historical time (or they died out on their own, it’s hard to say something definite here), but in the 70s of the 20th century, work began on the reintroduction of this species in the Russian tundra. Introduction completed successfully. Now musk oxen in Russia live in Taimyr, on about. Wrangel, in the Polar Urals, in Yakutia, in the Magadan region.

In summer, a polar bear grazes in the tundra, but in winter, bears go to the Arctic desert zone.

All animals that live in the tundra have warm fur, significant fat reserves, small ears, short legs, and in the structure of the body there is clearly a tendency to turn into a ball - so from the point of view of keeping warm, it is most profitable to exist, although, of course, to run away from a predator or On the contrary, it is problematic for the balls to catch up with prey, therefore both predators and their prey did not finally turn into balls.

34Lemmings are an important part of the menu of predators living in the tundra - owls and arctic foxes. They breed quite moderately, 5-6 litters per year. In the Scandinavian countries, there are legends that lemmings are sometimes so afraid of life that they commit suicide by throwing themselves into rivers and lakes. In fact, this legend is just a myth, which is based on real facts. This myth arose in the 19th century, when scientists could not find the answer to the question: why in some years the number of lemmings drops sharply.In addition, this myth gained popularity thanks to the staged suicide of lemmings in a documentary film about the nature of Canada - "White Wasteland". To shoot this scene, the sadistic filmmakers drove dozens of lemmings they bought into the river with a broom.

The reality is that every few years there is a sharp jump in the rodent population. Then they start to run out of food, and the pussies rush into all serious ways to make their nose bleed, but to devour, forgive me my capacious Russian. They begin to eat even poisonous plants and behave aggressively towards predators. And when there is absolutely nothing to eat, huge crowds of lemmings rush in search of food. In years when the populationlemmings are declining, arctic foxes have to change their place of residence in search of food, and owls do not even lay eggs, because then there will be nothing to feed the chicks.

35 Norwegian Lemming

36 Arctic fox - the main predator of the tundra

37 Reindeer. Lives in the northern part of Eurasia and North America. It eats not only grass and lichens, but also small mammals and birds. In Eurasia, the reindeer is domesticated and is an important source of food and materials for many northern peoples. Both males and females have horns. Females need horns to keep presumptuous males away from food and to protect them from predators. Reindeer are largely domesticated. From deer people get milk, meat, wool, antlers, bones, antlers. From humans, deer only need salt and protection from predators.

38 Polar wolf. subspecies of the wolf. Listed in the Red Book.

39 Musk Ox

Of the birds that constantly live in the tundra, one can name a white partridge, a snowy owl, a Lapland plantain.

40 Ptarmigan in winter

41 Ptarmigan in summer

42 Ptarmigan chick. Look. what shaggy paws he has!

43 Polar (white) owl. One of the largest flying birds. The weight of females reaches 3 kg (males are usually smaller than females), and the wingspan is up to 170 cm. Adult birds are white with dark specks. More specks in females. In a year, one snowy owl eats an average of 1600 lemmings, although it hunts not only for them - its diet includes partridges, hares, and even arctic foxes. Having arranged a nest, the snowy owl actively guards it - it does not allow predators even for 1 km to the nest. In addition, an owl does not hunt near the nest. This is used by all kinds of birds that arrange their nests next to the nest of an owl - geese, ducks, waders, etc.

44 Beauty

45 Who wrote the story about the ugly duckling? Compared to this stuffed animal, the swans are handsome! And a snow-white beautiful owl will grow from a stuffed animal. That's about whom it was necessary to compose a fairy tale. About the ugly owl!

46 Lapland plantain is common in Siberia, Eastern and Northern Europe. Its nesting ranges are located in northern Russia, Norway and Sweden.

There are quite a lot of birds nesting in the summer in the tundra, for example, the Siberian Cranes, red-breasted geese, ducks and other representatives of waterfowl that have recently thundered throughout Russia. All of them leave the tundra in autumn and fly to warmer countries.

47 Sterkh (white crane). Breeds in Yakutia and west of the Ob mouth. Flies to India and Iran for the winter. There are about 3,000 Siberian Cranes left in nature. Ob Siberian Cranes - about 40. The bird is large, about 140 cm tall, with a wingspan of more than 2 meters. Lives in lakes and swamps.

48 Red-throated goose. Large duck, noisy, fussy. Easily tamed. Breeds in Taimyr, winters in the Black Sea and Caspian regions. Listed in the Red Book.

One of the main representatives of the animal world of the tundra is (drumroll) ......

49 Mosquito

In the lenny period of the year in the tundra, the midge does not allow anyone to live in peace - mosquitoes, midges, horseflies are ready to devour anyone who is not naturally endowed with thick fur and thick skin.

The main problem of the tundra is the extreme vulnerability of its ecology. Due to the slow restoration of the disturbed soil and vegetation cover, even traces of a car are overgrown for many decades. The construction of oil and gas production facilities destroys many thousands of hectares of tundra. Even if you stop all construction in the tundra, the restoration of the ecology will occur in hundreds of years.

It would seem that in this harsh region, where an icy prickly wind cuts the skin in winter, and hordes of bloodsuckers attack people in summer? But ask anyone who has been to the tundra - is it worth going there? And you will almost certainly get the answer - it's worth it. Whether because of the northern lights, or because of the polar day, because of the endless expanses or because of the frightening solitude, because of the "whisper of the stars" or because of the fox stealing your lunch, because of the creaking on the frost runners or because of snow flying from under the hooves of a deer.

50

By the way, about the "whisper of the stars". Sometimes such frosts are observed in the tundra that the steam escaping from the mouth during breathing instantly freezes. In calm weather, in the extraordinary silence of the tundra, you can hear how the micro-ice particles formed from your breath rub against each other, "whisper". It is this phenomenon that polar explorers call the "whisper of the stars."

As a conclusion, a control paragraph, so to speak. According to annual studies of all sorts of "British scientists" Iceland, which lies entirely in the tundra zone, is recognized as the happiest state in the world. The people there are the happiest! According to the same studies, Russians are somewhere in the second hundred in terms of happiness per capita =) Maybe it's time for us all to move to the tundra? =)

The tundra is an endless plain along which you can walk for a long time, but never meet a single tree or hill. In summer, here is the kingdom of swamps with swamps squelching underfoot, in winter - a white field stretching beyond the horizon. And many meters deep into the earth - permafrost.
Most of the natural zone of the Eurasian tundra is located in the north of the Russian Federation. The existence of the tundra has always been known, but several dozen definitions have been used to designate it: from “cold desert” and “frozen treelessness” to “mossy glades” and “walk-wind”. Only after the Siberian word “tundra” appeared in literary works, Nikolai Karamzin (1766-1826), a Russian historian and writer, declared in 1803: “The Siberian word tundra should be in the Russian lexicon; for we have not meant by any other vast, low, treeless plains overgrown with moss, which a poet, geographer, traveler can talk about, describing Siberia and the shores of the Arctic Sea ... "
Most of the tundra lies in the permafrost zone in the Arctic, beyond the Arctic Circle, and is represented mainly by a flat or undulating plain.
The tundra zone stretches along the entire coast within the Russian Federation, it occupies about 15% of the entire territory of Russia - from the border with Finland in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. The tundra is located on a narrow coastal strip in the extreme north of the European part of Russia, but in Siberia it reaches a maximum width of 500 km (in the extreme northeast of Russia, descending south to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula).
In the north of Sweden, large areas are occupied by the tundra zone of Swedish Lapland. Also, patches of tundra are found in the north of Norway, Finland and Iceland.
The tundra has been formed over many thousands of years in a cold, humid climate and the presence of permafrost in the soil, which lies close to the surface and retains water, which was formed when the topsoil thawed, forming the so-called gley.
From six to nine months of the year, the average temperature in the tundra remains below freezing. During the short summer, the surface of the tundra thaws only a few centimeters.
Since the annual amount of precipitation significantly exceeds evaporation, many small lakes have formed here, and swampy areas occupy large areas.
The vegetation of the tundra varies depending on local conditions. In particular, the climate of the Norwegian tundra is milder than the Siberian one due to the proximity of the warm Atlantic current, and therefore more trees are found here than in northern Russia.
The main natural feature of the tundra is the polar day and polar night.
The tundra is a very vulnerable ecosystem: there are very short food chains, for example, a deer feeds on lichen, which is hunted by a wolf and which is bred by a person. Violation in one link immediately breaks the entire system. To preserve it, in countries where there is a tundra, reserves and national parks have been created.
Nevertheless, as a result of human activity, the tundra ecosystem has already been severely disturbed: traces from the wheels and caterpillars of vehicles remain here for years, and the destroyed moss reindeer stands are restored only after decades.
The natural zone of a typical Eurasian tundra occupies the coast of the Arctic Ocean and some islands.
Botanical geography describes the Eurasian tundra as a zonal type of vegetation in the subarctic latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. These places are characterized by treelessness, the predominance of spore plants (moss) and low-growing perennial grasses, and to the south - small shrubs (not higher than 40 cm): due to permafrost, trees are simply not able to take root. According to the predominant type of plants, the tundra is, for example, moss or lichen. It depends on the location of this section of the tundra. In the north, the Arctic tundra is distinguished, where there is either no vegetation at all, or there is a lot of moss and lichen. Closer to the south - shrub tundra with moss, lichen, low-growing grasses and dwarf birch.
Since the conditions for survival in the tundra are extremely difficult, the local fauna is not rich in species. Large herbivores are represented by reindeer, predators are fast-moving weasels, foxes and wolves, birds are snowy owls adapted to hunting lemmings, partridges and loons.
The most famous animal of the tundra after the reindeer is the small rodent lemming. He lives throughout the tundra. A widespread myth about the "mass suicide" of animals that allegedly drown in rivers, following the leader, is associated with the lemming. In fact, a lemming is a solitary creature, and in a hungry year, when there is little food, it goes to look for it, and each one moves on its own, they gather in large groups only on the banks of rivers and lakes. Not everyone drowns, as lemmings can swim quite well. The main trouble for a person from this seemingly harmless animal is that it is a natural carrier of infectious diseases: tularemia, pseudotuberculosis and hemorrhagic fever.
In the Russian tundra zone, in addition to deer, the musk ox also lives, although its number is small - only a few thousand heads, and all of them are descendants of animals brought here in the mid-1970s. for breeding from Canada and the USA.
The population density in the tundra is extremely low, for example, in the Finnish tundra it barely reaches 0.45 people / km 2. There are practically no large settlements here, the population leads a nomadic lifestyle, and mining - mainly oil and gas - is carried out on a rotational basis.
The occupations of the indigenous population of the tundra are the same almost throughout the entire territory: reindeer herding, fishing and fishing for elk, wolves and birds.
Domesticated reindeer are sent out to free range during the summer, and herds can reach many thousands in size. Deer themselves are looking for pasture, mainly moss.
The reindeer ensures the survival of people in the tundra in all respects: the skins are used for sewing clothes and shoes, making the roof and walls of chums and yarangas, saddles and sleds. The reverse side of the skins was previously used to create primitive maps of the area.
Deer meat is one of the main sources of energy for local residents. It is frozen and stored. In summer, the basis of the diet is dried fish and poultry. Plant food is almost never used (tundra plants are unsuitable for food, and imported ones cannot be preserved). Nevertheless, on the shelves of local residents you can see purchased flour, tea and canned food.

general information

Administrative affiliation: Russian Federation, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland.

Largest cities: Murmansk - 299,143 people (2014), Norilsk - 176,559 people. (2014), Vorkuta - 61,638 people. (2014).

Languages: Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Sami (Finland, Norway, Sweden), Russian and the languages ​​of the small peoples of the North (Russia), Icelandic.

Ethnic composition: Saami (Finland, Norway, Sweden, Russia), Evenks, Khanty, Mansi, Nenets, Dolgans, Chukchi, Koryaks, Selkups, Nganasans, Enets, Evens, Negidapts, terms, Orochs, Nanais, Itelmens, Eskimos, Aleuts, Yukaghirs, Kets, Nivkhs (Russia), Icelanders.

Religions: Lutheranism (Finland, Iceland), Church of Norway (Norway), Church of Sweden (Sweden), Animism (Sweden, Russia), Orthodoxy (Russia, Finland).

Monetary units: Russian ruble, Euro (Finland), Swedish krona, Norwegian krone, Icelandic krone.

Large lakes: Taimyr (Russia), Inari (Finland), Turnetresk (Sweden).

Large rivers: Tana (Norway).

Numbers

Width: 30-500 km.

Average depth of permafrost: from 30-80 to 200 cm.
Maximum depth of permafrost: over 100 m.

Climate and weather

January average temperature: up to -30°С.

July average temperature: from +5 to +10°С.

Average annual rainfall: 200-400 mm.
Snow cover duration: 7-9 months
Snow depth: in the west - about 50 cm, in the east - up to 25 cm.

Wind speed: up to 40 m/sec.

Relative humidity: 70%.

Economy

Hunting and fishing.

traditional crafts: bone carving, making clothes from deer and polar fox skins.
Service sector: tourism, transport, trade.

Attractions

Curious facts

(Finnish tunturi - treeless, bare upland) - these are the spaces of the subarctic latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere with a predominance of moss-lichen, as well as undersized perennial grasses, shrubs and undersized shrubs. The roots of grasses, trunks of shrubs are hidden in moss and lichen turf. The main reason for the treelessness of the tundra is low air combined with high relative winds, strong winds, unfavorable conditions for the germination of seeds of woody plants on the moss-lichen cover.

Plants in the tundra zone are pressed to the surface, forming densely intertwined cushion-shaped shoots. The leading role here is played by such plants as sedge, buttercups, some cereals, wild rosemary, deciduous shrubs - willow, birch, alder. In July, the tundra is covered with a carpet of flowering plants. On the warmed parts of the shores and lakes, you can find polar golden poppies, dandelions, polar forget-me-nots, chickweeds, pink flowers of mytnik.

According to the prevailing vegetation, 3 subzones in the tundra are distinguished:

arctic tundra, which in the north borders on the zone of snow and ice. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) is not higher than +6°C, so the vegetation cover is broken. It consists of lichens, low-growing grasses and shrubs (there is no shrub here). Vegetation covers only 60% of the entire surface. A significant area is occupied by (riding), many lakes. In summer, deer graze on the expanses of the tundra;

Moss-lichen tundra. It is located in the middle part. Plots of moss tundra of various types of mosses alternate with lichen tundras of sphagnum mosses that do not form a continuous cover. In addition to mosses and lichens, sedge, bluegrass, creeping willow are found here. As pastures for deer, the most valuable areas of the tundra, where moss moss grows;

shrub tundra. It is located further south than the moss-lichen. The shrub tundra in the south passes into. The average air temperature in July is up to +11°C, therefore shrub thickets are widespread in the river valleys. They consist of polar willow, bushy alder. In places thickets of willow rise to the height of a man. The shrub tundra is rich in dense thickets of Siberian dwarf pine. In areas of this tundra subzone, shrubs are an important source of fuel. In the shrub tundra, as in the Arctic, large areas are occupied by lakes, moss and sedge bogs, and river valleys. The soils of the tundra are thin, tundra-gley and peaty, they are infertile. Frozen soils with a thin active layer are widespread here.

The fauna here is represented by reindeer, lemming, arctic fox, ptarmigan, in summer - many migratory birds.

The tundra includes areas lying beyond the northern limits of forest vegetation with permafrost soil that is not flooded by sea or river waters. By the nature of the surface, the tundra can be rocky, clayey, sandy, peaty, hummocky or swampy. The idea of ​​the tundra as a hard-to-reach space is true only for the marshy tundra, where permafrost can disappear by the end of summer. In the tundra of European Russia, the thawed layer reaches, by September, about 35 cm on peat, about 132 cm on clay, and about 159 cm on sand. depth about 52 - 66 cm.

After very frosty and little snow winters and in cold summers, the permafrost, of course, is closer to the surface, while after mild and snowy winters and in warm summers, the permafrost sinks. In addition, the thawed layer is thinner on flat ground than on slopes, where the permafrost may even disappear completely. Peat-hilly tundra dominates on, on and along the coast of the Czech Bay to the Timan Ridge.

The surface of the tundra here consists of large, about 12–14 m high and up to 10–15 m wide, isolated, steep-sided, extremely dense peat mounds, frozen inside. The gaps between the hillocks, about 2 - 5 m wide, are occupied by a very watery, hard-to-reach swamp, "Ersei" Samoyeds. The vegetation on the mounds consists of various lichens and mosses, usually with cloudberries on the slopes. The body of the mound is composed of moss and small tundra shrubs, which can sometimes even prevail.

Peat-hilly tundra goes south or closer to the rivers, where there are already forests, into sphagnum peat bogs with cranberries, cloudberries, gonobol, bagun, birch dwarf. Sphagnum peat bogs protrude very far into the forest area. To the east of the Timansky Ridge, peat mounds and Ersei are already rare and only in small areas in low places where water accumulates more. In the northeast of European Russia, the following types of tundra are developed.

Peaty tundra. The peat layer, consisting of mosses and tundra shrubs, is continuous but thin. The surface is covered mainly with a carpet of reindeer moss, but cloudberries and other small shrubs are sometimes found in abundance. This type, developed on more level ground, is very widespread, especially between the Timan and rivers.

Bald, fissured tundra very common in places that do not present conditions for stagnant water and are available for action, blowing snow and drying up the soil, which is covered with cracks. These cracks break the soil into small (the size of a plate, the size of a wheel, and larger) areas completely devoid of vegetation, so that frozen clay or frozen sand comes out. Such sites are separated from each other by strips of small shrubs, grasses and saxifrages sitting in cracks.

Herbaceous and shrubby tundra develops where the soil is more fertile. Lichens and mosses recede into the background or disappear completely, and shrubs dominate.

hummocky tundra. Tussocks up to 30 cm high consist of cotton grass with mosses, lichens and tundra shrubs. The gaps between the tussocks are occupied by mosses and lichens, and gray lichens also dress the tops of old, dead cottongrass tussocks.

swampy tundra covers large areas in Siberia, where various sedges and grasses predominate in swamps. Swampy spaces occupy, as already noted, the gaps between the hillocks in the peaty-hummocky tundra.

rocky tundra developed on rocky mountain outcrops (for example, on, Kaninsky and Timan Stones,). The stony tundra is covered with lichens and tundra shrubs.

Plants characteristic of the tundra are reindeer moss or lichens, which give the surface of the tundra a light gray color. Other plants, mostly small shrubs clinging to the soil, are usually found in spots against a background of reindeer moss. In the southern parts of the tundra and closer to the rivers, where they are already beginning to appear, birch dwarf birch and some willows, about 0.7 - 8 m tall, are widespread in treeless places.

The natural zone of the tundra is located mainly beyond the Arctic Circle and is bounded from the north by arctic (polar) deserts, and from the south by forests. It is located in the subarctic zone between 68 and 55 degrees north latitude. In those small areas where cold air masses from the Arctic Ocean in summer are blocked by mountains - these are the valleys of the Yana, Kolyma, Yukon rivers - taiga rises into the subarctic. It is necessary to distinguish separately the mountain tundra, which is characterized by a change in nature with the height of the mountains.

The word "tundra" comes from the Finnish tunturi, which means "treeless, bare upland". In Russia, the tundra occupies the coast of the seas of the Arctic Ocean and the territories adjacent to it. Its area is about 1/8 of the entire area of ​​Russia. In Canada, the tundra natural zone belongs to a significant part of the northern territories, which are practically uninhabited. In the United States, the tundra occupies most of the state of Alaska.

a brief description of

• The natural zone tundra occupies about 8-10% of the entire territory of Russia;
• The tundra has a very short summer with an average temperature in the warmest month, July, from +4 degrees in the north to +11 degrees in the south;
• Winter in the tundra is long and very severe, accompanied by strong winds and snowstorms;
• Cold winds blow throughout the year: in summer - from the Arctic Ocean, and in winter - from the chilled continental part of Eurasia;
• The tundra is characterized by permafrost, that is, the upper level of the earth frozen through, part of which thaws only a few tens of centimeters in summer.
• Very little precipitation falls in the tundra zone - only 200-300 mm per year. However, the soils in the tundra are waterlogged everywhere due to impermeable permafrost at a shallow depth of surface cover and low evaporation due to low temperatures even with strong winds;
• Soils in the tundra are usually infertile (due to humus being blown out by the winds) and heavily swamped due to freezing in harsh winters and only partial warming in the warm season.

Tundra is a natural zone of Russia

As everyone knows from school lessons, the nature and climate on the territory of Russia has a clearly defined zonality of processes and phenomena. This is due to the fact that the territory of the country has a large extent from north to south, and it is dominated by a flat relief. Each natural zone is characterized by a certain ratio of heat and moisture. Natural areas are sometimes called landscape or geographic areas.

The tundra occupies the territory adjacent to the coast of the Arctic Ocean and is the most severe inhabited natural zone in Russia. To the north of the natural tundra zone there are only arctic deserts, and to the south the forest zone begins.

The following are presented on the plains of Russia natural areas, starting from the north:

• Arctic deserts;
• Forest-steppe
• Steppes
• semi-deserts
• desert
• Subtropics.

And in the mountainous regions of Russia, altitudinal zonation is clearly expressed.

Natural areas of Russia on the map

The tundra is characterized by harsh climatic conditions, relatively low rainfall and the fact that its territory is located mainly behind polar circle. Let's list the facts about the tundra:

• The tundra natural zone is located to the north of the taiga zone;
• In the mountains of Scandinavia, the Urals, Siberia, Alaska and Northern Canada, mountain tundras are found;
• Tundra zones stretch in a strip 300-500 km wide along the northern coasts of Eurasia and North America;
• The climate of the tundra is subarctic, it is quite severe and is characterized by long winters with polar nights (when the sun practically does not rise above the horizon) and short summers. A particularly harsh climate is observed in the continental regions of the tundra;
• Winter in the tundra lasts 6-9 months a year, it is accompanied by strong winds and low air temperatures;
• Frosts in the tundra sometimes reach minus 50 degrees Celsius;
• The polar night in the tundra lasts 60-80 days;
• Snow in the tundra lies from October to June, its height in the European part is 50-70 centimeters, and in Eastern Siberia and Canada 20-40 cm. Snowstorms are frequent in the tundra in winter;
• Summer in the tundra is short, with a long polar day;
• August in the tundra is considered the warmest month of the year: there are positive average daily temperatures up to + 10-15 degrees, but frosts are possible on any day of the summer;
• Summer is characterized by high air humidity, frequent fogs and drizzling rains;
• The tundra vegetation includes 200-300 species of flowering plants and about 800 species of mosses and lichens.

The main occupations of the population in the tundra:

• Reindeer herding;
• Fishing;
• Hunting for fur and sea animals.

The population of the tundra is limited in its choice of occupations due to the peculiarities of natural conditions and relative isolation from large cities, as well as the population on, isolated on small islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the following types of tundra are distinguished, which have characteristic vegetation:

• arctic tundra(marshy soils and moss-lichen plants predominate);
• subarctic tundra or typical middle tundra(moss, lichen and shrub plants, berries);
• or the southern tundra (shrub plants - dwarf birch, bushy alder, various types of willows, as well as berries and mushrooms).

arctic tundra

In the Arctic, on the northern edge of the European and Asian parts of Russia, as well as in the far north of North America, there is an arctic tundra. It occupies the coastal territory of the northern seas and is a flat swampy area. Summer brings only a short thaw there, and plants are not found due to the too cold climate. Permafrost is covered with melted lakes of melted snow and ice. Perennial plants in such conditions are able to grow only for a short time - at the end of July and August, grouping in places that are lowered and protected from the winds, and annual plants do not take root here, because due to harsh natural conditions there is a very short growing season. The predominant species are mosses and lichens, and shrubs do not grow at all in the arctic tundra.

More southern types of tundra up to the forest-tundra zone are called Subarctic. Here, the cold arctic air in summer gives way to the warmer air of the temperate zone for a short time. The day there is long, and under the influence of the penetration of a warmer climate, tundra plants have time to develop. Basically, these are dwarf plants that nestle against the earth that radiates a little heat. So they hide from the winds and from freezing, trying to spend the winter under the snow cover as if in a fur coat.

IN middle tundra there are mosses, lichens and small shrubs. Small rodents are found here - lemmings (pied), which feed on arctic foxes and polar owls. Most animals in the tundra are covered with snow-white fur or plumage in winter, and turn brown or gray in summer. Of the large animals in the middle tundra, reindeer (wild and domestic), wolves, and tundra partridge live. Due to the abundance of swamps in the tundra, there is simply a gigantic amount of all kinds of midges, which attract wild geese, ducks, swans, waders and loons in the summer to breed chicks in the tundra.

Agriculture in the subarctic tundra is impossible in any form due to the low temperature of the soil and its poverty in nutrients. The territory of the middle tundra is used by reindeer herders as summer reindeer pastures.

On the border of the tundra and forest zones is located forest-tundra. It is much warmer in it than in the tundra: in some areas, the average daily temperature exceeds +15 degrees for 20 days a year. During the year, up to 400 mm of precipitation falls in the forest-tundra, and this is much more than the evaporated moisture. Therefore, the soils of the forest-tundra, as well as the subarctic tundra, are strongly waterlogged and waterlogged.

In the forest-tundra there are rare trees growing in sparse groves or singly. The forests consist of low-growing curved birches, spruces and larches. Usually the trees are far apart from each other, since their root system is located in the upper part of the soil, above the permafrost. There are both tundra and forest plant species.

In the eastern part of the forest-tundra are tundra forest characterized by thickets of stunted trees. In the subarctic mountainous regions, mountain tundra and barren rocky surfaces dominate, on which only mosses, lichens, and small rock flowers grow. The moss reindeer in the forest-tundra grows much faster than in the subarctic tundra, so there is expanse for deer here. In addition to deer, moose, brown bears, arctic foxes, white hares, capercaillie and hazel grouse live in the forest-tundra.

Agriculture in the tundra

In the forest tundra it is possible vegetable growing in the open field, here you can grow potatoes, cabbage, turnips, radishes, lettuce, green onions. And also developed methods for creating high-yielding meadows on the territory of the forest-tundra.

And do you know what…

In Iceland, which is located entirely in the natural zone of the tundra, potatoes were bred in the past and even barley was cultivated. It turned out a good harvest, because the Icelanders are a stubborn and hardworking people. But now, open farming has been replaced by a more profitable occupation - growing plants in greenhouses heated by the heat of hot springs. And today, various tropical crops grow beautifully in the tundra of Iceland, especially bananas. Iceland even exports them to Europe.

There are also mountain tundras, which form an altitudinal zone in the mountains of the temperate and subarctic belt. They are located above the border of mountain forests and are characterized by the dominance of lichens, mosses and some cold-resistant grasses, shrubs and shrubs. There are three belts in the mountain tundra:

• shrub belt- formed on stony soils, like the flat tundra.
• Moss-lichen belt located above the shrub, its characteristic vegetation is represented by semi-shrubs and some herbs.
• Upper belt mountain tundra is the poorest in vegetation. Here, among the stony soils and on the rocky formations, only lichens and mosses grow, as well as squat shrubs.

Mountain tundra (highlighted in purple)

Antarctic tundra

On the Antarctic Peninsula and islands in the high latitudes of the southern hemisphere there is a natural zone similar to the tundra. It is called the Antarctic Tundra.

Tundra in Canada and the USA

In the northern part of Canada and in the US state of Alaska, very significant areas are located in the tundra natural zone. It is located in the Arctic in the northern regions of the Western Cordillera. There are 12 types of tundra in Canada and the USA:

• Tundra of the Alaska Range and Saint Elias Mountains (USA and Canada)
• Coastal tundra of Baffin Island
• Tundra of the Brooks and British Mountains
• Davis Strait Tundra
• Tundra of the Torngat Mountains
• High mountain tundra of the hinterland
• Ogilvy and Mackenzie high tundra
• polar tundra
• subpolar tundra
• polar tundra
• Tundra and ice fields of the mountains of the Pacific coast
• arctic tundra

Flora and fauna of the tundra

Since the entire territory of the tundra is characterized by permafrost and strong winds, plants and animals have to adapt to life in difficult cold conditions, clinging to the ground or stones.

Plants in the tundra have characteristic forms and properties that reflect their adaptation to harsh continental climate. There are many mosses and lichens in the tundra. Due to the short and cold summers and long winters, most of the tundra plants are perennials and evergreens. Lingonberries and cranberries are examples of such perennials. shrub plants. They begin their growth as soon as the snow melts (often only in early July).

But the bushy lichen moss ("deer moss") grows very slowly, only 3-5 mm per year. It becomes clear why reindeer herders constantly wander from one pasture to another. They are forced to do this not at all because of a good life, but because the restoration of reindeer pastures is very slow, it takes 15-20 years. Among the plants in the tundra, there are also many blueberries, cloudberries, princesses and blueberries, as well as thickets of bushy willow. And in wetlands, sedges and grasses predominate, some of which have evergreen leaves covered with a bluish wax coating, giving dull colors.

A distinctive feature of the tundra is a large number, but a small species composition of animals. This is also due to the fact that the tundra is located literally on the very edge of the earth, where very few people live. Only a few species have adapted to the harsh conditions of the tundra, such as lemmings, arctic fox, reindeer, ptarmigan, snowy owl, hare, wolf, musk ox.

In summer, a mass of migratory birds appears in the tundra, attracted by a variety of insects that are found in abundance in the swampy area and are especially active in summer. They breed and feed their chicks here to soon fly to warmer climes.

Numerous rivers and lakes of the tundra are rich in various fish. Omul, vendace, whitefish and white salmon are found here. But cold-blooded reptiles and amphibians are practically not found in the tundra because of the low temperatures that limit their vital activity.

The tundra partridge is one of the most famous birds of the tundra.

Watch an interesting video about the tundra natural zone: