Period+1+Tundra+Kirchner

=__**The Tundra.**__=

One of the coldest places on our planet. It was formed nearly 10,000 years ago and is a vast treeless plains-type biome. This biome can look anything like a white, snow-covered wasteland to a beautiful grassland with scattered marshes. Here are some pictures to show you the region that is, The Tundra.

media type="custom" key="21516284" As you can see, the Tundra has many faces, all of which depend on the time of year.

Above is a map of all the places on earth that can be considered a Tundra. The yellow is Tundra and the brown and blue are all of the other biomes. The Tundra are almost entirely around the poles.

media type="youtube" key="WysPqt0Y_-w" height="315" width="420" The above video proves a general overview of the Tundra. It was found on youtube and has lots of interesting facts and real footage of, The Tundra.

This Video below is about one of my favorite animals that comes from the Tundra: media type="youtube" key="YJSUXps0hTQ" height="315" width="420" This video was about the Arctic Fox. Which is an animal that originates from the Tundra. The video is about Global Warmings impact on the fox, which is a very negative thing. The fox is well on its way to becoming an endangered species..

The Tundra is by far the coldest biome. It actually is similar to the desert in that it has very little precipitation. Usually that precipitation comes in the form of snow fall. However, unlike the desert, There isn't any sand in the Tundra. In fact, the soil that makes up the ground is actually called permafrost. Its dirt that has been permanently frozen. During the summers the top most layer of the permafrost thaws just enough to allow plants and animals to grow in an almost bog-like environment. The reason the tundra becomes almost like a bog is because the water from melting snow and permafrost can't return back into the soil since the soil is frozen solid.

The Tundra is one of the most important biomes when you are talking about saving the environment. The Tundra is one of the worlds largest and greatest Carbon Dioxide sinks. During the summer, the plants of the tundra taken in large amounts of CO2 and then when they die, unlike most plants, they are frozen forever. So the carbon dioxide they took in is never returned to the atmosphere. There is a problem though. Global Warming has been melting the permafrost, and all its frozen contents, which includes these plants. That means that these plants that have sealed away Carbon Dioxide from the past have been finally returning it to the atmosphere in large amounts, harming the planet greatly.

Here are some websites with some more information about the Tundra:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/tundra-profile/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/arctictundra.html

My last little bit about the Tundra is a chart that just gives you a great example of how cold the Tundra is compared to all of the other terrestrial biomes :



Sources:

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra.htm