WHAT IS TUNDRA Tundra is a cold dry and barren biome The word tundra comes from a word meaning treeless plain in the Finnish language and the most obvious thing about tundra is that there are no trees Treeless plains Trees cannot survive in tundra because there is not enough water available in tundra soil for these large plants to grow and survive throughout the year However there are lots of plants that do thrive in the extremely cold harsh tundra conditions These include wiry shrubs such as heathers and bilberries and tough grasses and sedges especially in wetter areas There are scattered patches of spongy mosses on the ground and colorful lichens surviving on the rocks Tundra landscapes are snow-covered for much of the year until summer brings a burst of wildflowers Fact Focus Biome or Habitat Biomes are regions of the world that have a similar climate plants and animals such as deserts forests rivers oceans tundra and grassland A habitat is the specific place in a biome where a plant or animal lives 4
Tundra survivors Many animals manage to survive in the challenging tundra biome The low plants are teeming with animal life from spiders and midges to moths and bumblebees Some of these help to pollinate the flowers so they can produce seeds and berries Hares lemmings geese mountain goats and caribou feast on the tundra plants Hunters in the tundra Tundra is a hunting ground for lots of predators In the air eagles and owls fly silently on the lookout for a tasty bird or mammal to catch and eat On the ground tundra predators can be as small as shrews or foxes or as large as wolves and bears Amazing Adaptation Adaptations are body parts or ways of behaving that living things develop over time to help them survive in a biome Arctic bumblebees shake their wings very very fast to stay warm as they fly around in the cold air feeding on tundra flowers In winter the Arctic fox’s fur is white to blend in with the snow This makes hunting prey easier In summer the fur turns brown for camouflage against the rocks and plants 5
