(Finnish tunturi - treeless, bare upland) - these are the spaces of the subarctic latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere with a predominance of moss-lichen vegetation, as well as undersized perennial grasses, shrubs and undersized shrubs. The roots of grasses, trunks of shrubs are hidden in moss and lichen turf. main reason treelessness of the tundra - low air combined with a high relative, strong winds, unfavourable conditions for seed germination woody plants on 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 carpeted 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 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. average temperature 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. Areas of moss tundra from various kinds 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 forest tundra. 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 snowy winters and in cold summers, the permafrost is, of course, closer to the surface, while after mild and snowy winters and in warm summer permafrost is falling. 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 and developed the following types tundra.

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 southern parts 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 very common in treeless places.

What part of the country is the tundra in?

  1. The tundra is located in the north of Russia and stretches in a narrow strip from the west (Finland) to the east (Bering Strait)
  2. Tundra
  3. The tundra zone covers about 10% of the territory of Russia and is located within the Arctic and subarctic climatic zones; stretches from the Finnish border in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. The zone occupies a narrow coastal strip in the extreme north of the European part of Russia and reaches a maximum width of 500 km in Siberia; It also has a significant length in the extreme northeast of Russia, where it extends southward to the northern part of the Kamchatka Peninsula. The tundra is practically treeless; permafrost lies close to the surface and retains moisture formed during the thawing of the upper soil layer. The annual amount of precipitation significantly exceeds evaporation. As a result of the combination of low temperatures with high humidity, the vegetation lacks organic material, so the soils are extremely poor and, due to the slow decomposition of the material, are highly oxidized. A typical tundra soil includes a thin layer of humus, under which there is a gley horizon; even deeper permafrost. The placement of vegetation is discrete; lichens, mosses, shrubs, shrubs are numerous. Since the nature of the vegetation changes from north to south, two subzones are distinguished in the tundra - arctic tundra with large areas without vegetation and a wide distribution of mosses and lichens, shrub tundra with mosses, lichens, grasses, and dwarf birch. In addition to deer (used by the local population on the farm), the typical inhabitants of the tundra are arctic fox, musk ox, lemming, snowy owl, partridge, loon.
  4. . The tundra is located to the north of the taiga zone. It covers the north of Russia, leaving in Europe to the coast of the Arctic Ocean, and in Asia - to this ocean and to the Bering Sea, the extreme northeast of Finland, Sweden, all of Iceland, southwest Greenland, northern Canada and the main part of Alaska in the subarctic zone of the northern hemisphere.
  5. In the north
  6. in Africa
  7. And I have a task to explain the meaning of the word tundra

Imagine badlands that are unsuitable for tree growth, too cold for many animals, and too isolated for most people. Although such a place may seem incredible, on our planet there is a natural area that fully corresponds to this description, known as the tundra. The uniqueness of this region lies in the harsh climate, as well as the scarcity of flora and fauna.

The tundra is one of the youngest natural zones in the world. According to some estimates, its formation took place about 10,000 years ago. It is located in northern parts Asia, Europe and North America, as well as in high mountains middle latitudes and distant regions of Oceania and South America. Some areas of Greenland and Alaska are good examples tundra. However, this natural zone also covers large areas of the northern regions of Canada and Russia.

Classification

Depending on the geographical location, the tundra is divided into three main types: arctic, alpine and antarctic. The Arctic tundra covers large areas of the northern regions of Eurasia and North America, where permafrost and poor soils hinder the growth of most plant species. The Antarctic tundra is mostly covered by ice and is located at the South Pole, including the islands of South Georgia and Kerguelen. Alpine tundras are found high in the mountains around the world, where only stunted vegetation occurs due to cold temperatures.

The tundra of the northern hemisphere can be divided into three distinct zones, which differ in climate as well as species composition flora and fauna:

  • Arctic tundra;
  • Middle tundra;
  • Southern tundra.

Natural conditions of the tundra

The natural conditions of the tundra are among the most difficult on earth. Barren soils, extreme cold, low biodiversity and isolation make this region almost uninhabitable for people. Unlike the natural zone of the steppe, where it is easier to grow grain and vegetable crops, the vegetation in the tundra is rarely edible for humans. Therefore, the peoples of the tundra (for example, the Eskimos) survive on hunting, as well as marine resources such as seals, walruses, whales and salmon. For a detailed consideration of the natural conditions of the tundra, one should study the main factors affecting people's lives:

Geographical position

Tundra on the map of the main natural areas of the world

Conventions: - Tundra.

The natural tundra zone is found all over the world and occupies 1/5 of the land. The Arctic tundra is located between 55° and 75° north latitude, covering the following regions of the planet: Alaska (in the northern regions), Northern Canada (from the Mackenzie River delta to Hudson Bay and northeastern Labrador), Greenland (the northern outskirts of the island), Northern Scandinavia (from polar circle to North and Baltic Seas) and Russia (north of Siberia from Ural mountains before Pacific Ocean). characteristic of the tundra natural conditions also found in Antarctica and high in the mountains on all continents of the Earth.

Relief and soil

The tundra is an amazing flat landscape that, under the constant influence of freezing and thawing of the earth, creates unique patterns on its surface. In summer, water accumulates underground, and then freezes in the cold season and pushes the soil out, forming small hills called pingos.

Most of the soils of the tundra were formed by fragments of sedimentary rocks left behind by retreating glaciers. Organic matter also serves as the main material for these young soils, which were still covered with ice 10,000 years ago. The harsh climate of the tundra keeps the soils of the natural zone in a frozen state for most of the year, which plays a lot important role in the carbon cycle of the planet. It's too cold in here to decompose organic matter, therefore, all dead organisms remain for thousands of years in an ice trap.

Climate

The tundra is famous for its extreme climate, which is the main factor in the barrenness (with the exception of a few shrubs and lichens) of most of the land in the natural zone. Winter lasts 8 to 10 months, while summers are cool and short. Also, due to the fact that most of the tundra is located within north pole, it is characterized by 6 monthly periods of light and darkness. The sun's rays pass through a strong angle, not providing normal heating. Below are the main temperature indicators characteristic of this natural zone:

  • Average January temperature: -32.1°C;
  • Average July temperature: +4.1°C;
  • Temperature range: 36.2°C;
  • Average annual temperature: -17° С;
  • Minimum recorded temperature: -52.5°C;
  • Maximum recorded temperature: +18.3°C.

The amount of precipitation in the tundra throughout the year is very low, averaging 136 mm, of which 83.3 mm is snow. This is due to low evaporation as average temperatures are below freezing, which does not allow enough time for the snow and ice to melt. For this reason, the tundra is often called.

Vegetable world

Although most natural areas are covered with trees, the tundra is known for their absence. The term "tundra" comes from the Finnish word "tunturia", which means "treeless plain". Many factors contribute to the absence of trees. First, because of the short summer, the growing season is shortened, making it difficult for trees to grow. Constant and strong winds also make the natural conditions of the tundra unsuitable for tall plants. In addition, it prevents the penetration of roots into the soil, and low temperatures slow down decomposition, which limits the amount of nutrients circulating in the environment.

Although some trees are found in the tundra, the flora of the natural area is based on small plants, such as low shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens.

Plants growing in this region have developed important adaptations that ensure their survival in such a harsh environment. During the winter months, many plants go dormant to survive the cold. Plants at rest remain alive, but cease active growth. This allows you to save energy and use it during more favorable conditions. summer months.

Some plants have developed more specific survival adaptations. Their flowers slowly follow the sun throughout the day to trap the warmth of the sun's rays. Other plants have a protective covering, such as thick hairs, to help protect against wind, cold, and desiccation. Although plants in most natural areas shed their leaves, there are species of flora in the tundra that retain old leaves to increase survival. Leaving the old leaves they keep nutrients and also provide protection from the cold.

Animal world

Even though the natural area of ​​the tundra is not rich in wildlife diversity, there are several species of animals found in it. Large herbivores such as reindeer and elk live here. They feed on moss, grasses and shrubs that come across on their way. As for predators, they are represented by the wolf and the Arctic fox. They play the most important role in the tundra ecosystem by controlling herbivore populations. Otherwise, the herbivores would eat all the plants and eventually starve to death.

There are also many birds nesting on the tundra during the summer months and migrating south in the winter. White and brown bears also not uncommon for this natural area. Some other animals of the arctic tundra include: snowy owl, lemmings, weasel, and polar hare. But perhaps the most annoying of all the fauna of the region are mosquitoes and midges that fly around in huge flocks.

Due to the extreme climate, the animals of the tundra had to develop appropriate adaptive features. The most common adaptation among animals is dense white fur or feathers. The snowy owl uses white camouflage to camouflage itself from potential predators or prey. Among insects, a dark color predominates, allowing you to capture and retain most of the day's heat.

Natural resources

There are many in the tundra natural resources, and most of them are very valuable, such as the remains of a woolly mammoth. Another important natural resource of the natural zone is oil, which can pose a serious threat to nature. In the event of an oil spill, many animals will die, disrupting a fragile ecosystem. The region is rich in, for example, berries, mushrooms, whales, walruses, seals and fish, as well as, for example, iron.

Table of the natural zone of the tundra

Geographical position Relief and soil
Climate Flora and fauna Natural resources
The Arctic tundra is located between 55° and 75° north latitude in Eurasia and North America.

Alpine tundra is found in mountains all over the world.

Antarctic tundra is found at the South Pole.

 The relief is flat. The climate is cold and dry. The average temperature in January is -32.1°C, and in July +4.1°C. Precipitation is very low, averaging 136 mm, of which 83.3 mm is snow. Animals

polar foxes, polar bears, wolves, reindeer, hares, lemmings, walruses, polar owls, seals, whales, salmonids, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, midges and flies.

Plants

shrubs, grasses, lichens, mosses and algae.

 oil, gas, minerals, mammoth remains.

Peoples and cultures

Historically, the natural zone of the tundra has been inhabited by people for thousands of years. The first inhabitants of the region were early humans Homo glacis fabricatus who had fur and lived in low vegetation. Then came people from many of the indigenous tribes of Asia, Europe, and elsewhere in the northern hemisphere. Some of the inhabitants of the tundra were nomads, while others had permanent dwellings. The Yupik, Alutiiki, and Iñupiat are examples of the Alaskan tundra peoples. Russia, Norway and Sweden have their own inhabitants of the tundra, called Nenets, Saami or Lapps.

Significance for a person

As a rule, the harsh climate of the natural tundra zone hinders human activities. The region is rich in valuable, but
biodiversity and habitat conservation programs protect it from harmful interference. The main benefit of the tundra for humans is the retention of large amounts of carbon in frozen soil, which has a positive effect on the global climate of the planet.

Environmental threats

Due to the extreme living conditions in the tundra natural zone, many do not realize that it is very fragile. Oil spill pollution, large trucks as well as factories disrupt environment. Human activities also create problems for the aquatic life of the region.

The main environmental threats include:

  • The thawing of permafrost as a result of global warming can radically change the local landscape and negative impact on biodiversity.
  • The depletion of the ozone layer in the North and south poles enhances ultraviolet radiation.
  • Air pollution can lead to smog contaminating lichens, which are an important food source for many animals.
  • Exploration for oil, gas, other minerals, as well as the construction of pipelines, roads can cause physical inconvenience and habitat fragmentation.
  • Oil spills cause tremendous damage to wildlife and the tundra ecosystem.
  • Buildings and roads increase the temperature and pressure on the permafrost, causing it to melt.
  • Invasive species deplete native flora and reduce the diversity of vegetation cover.

Protection of the natural zone of the tundra

To protect the tundra from anthropogenic human activities, it is necessary to solve the following priority tasks:

  • Switching to alternative energy sources to minimize anthropogenic global warming.
  • Creation of protected areas and nature reserves to limit human impact on wildlife.
  • Limiting the construction of roads, mining, and the construction of pipelines in the natural zone of the tundra.
  • Limiting tourism and honoring the culture of the indigenous peoples of the region.

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Tundra is a huge natural country stretching along the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean. It's so tough climatic conditions that there is no place for tall, mighty trees, extensively occupying the solid territory of our country.

The standard filling of the tundra is plants that will be able to survive the fleeting three-month warm season. During the summer, they have to do a lot - to bloom and give fruits and seeds, because all the other months will be hosted by a cold, harsh winter. But the local flora is already accustomed to tundra conditions- Ripe seeds are patiently waiting for the summer weather. These conditions correspond to mosses and lichens, and from shrubs - little-known cloudberries and blueberries. Also there you can find dwarf trees - such as birch and willow. Other trees and plants have no place in this "country" - during the summer, low temperatures allow only the top of the soil layer to thaw, only the aforementioned representatives of the plant world are used to such requests.

The tundra is divided into several types:

arctic tundra

It is located on the border with the ice zone, the temperature does not exceed +6 degrees. Of the vegetation there is only lichen and low grass. Vegetation is only on half of the entire surface. Most of it is occupied by swamps and lakes. IN summer time reindeer graze in the arctic tundra.

Moss-lichen tundra

It is located between ice and warmer zones. It mainly grows short grass, shrubs, and moss. There are also small trees such as sedge and creeping willow. It is actively used by people as pastures for breeding deer.

shrub tundra

It borders on the forest-tundra in the south. Thickets of grass can sometimes exceed the height of a person, shrubs also grow abundantly. In the Far East, cedar steel is actively growing. The temperature does not exceed +11 degrees.

forest tundra

A rare number of trees alternate with shrubs and tall grass. Flora and fauna are more actively developed in this region.

Also, each zone has its own type of tundra. Polygon tundra found in some areas of the arctic tundra. There are also rocky, hilly, and hummocky tundras.

The animal world is also sparingly represented. A large amount of water briefly attracts birds such as, wild ducks and geese, but with the advent of winter they leave tundra territory flying away over southern lands. Animals that made the tundra theirs permanent place residence, were forced to get used to such harsh conditions. Partridge, arctic fox, reindeer, ermine, wolf, fox, lemming - each of these animals is waiting for the winter in its own way. Someone falls into a long sleep, someone survives under the snow, someone decides to leave the tundra for a while to return with the onset of a short summer. Oddly enough, the ubiquitous insects - mosquitoes - live in the tundra.

The nature of the tundra is considered very vulnerable. Over time, from the traces of passing cars, ravines and pits appear. Therefore, people take exceptional measures to development of the tundra and search natural resources. In the past, people considered the tundra a magical land, this name comes from the long polar nights and permafrost.

But already in a more civilized time in the tundra it was found a large number of natural resources. For example, almost all the minerals of the periodic table were found in Siberia, and now the extraction of these minerals, especially oil and gas, is well established there. Every year, geologists find new deposits, making their way deeper and deeper into those places where a person had no access to go before.

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 Arctic deserts we're heading 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 tundra is located within the subarctic climate zone, that is, in winter, arctic air masses and moderate in summer. The average temperature of the warm month in the year - August + 5- + 10 ° С. Annual quantity precipitation is 200-300 mm in the north and 400 mm in the south (about 500 mm/year in Tomsk). 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 Foreign Europe tundra is common in Iceland, northern Finland and 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 peace. 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: certain place the ground is melting faster than in the surrounding area, water accumulates, which seeps into the frozen ground. 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. Samo Greek word dryad 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, in Eastern Siberia and on Far East larch.

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.

Grazes in the tundra in summer polar bear, 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 documentary 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. 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 distributed 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 late season 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 windless weather, in the extraordinary silence of the tundra, you can hear how 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 to move to the tundra? =)