Arctic tundra occurs in the far Northern Hemisphere, north of the taiga belt.
The word tundra usually refers only to the areas where the subsoil is
permafrost, or permanently frozen soil.
It may also refer to the treeless plain in general, so that northern Sįpmi
would be included. Permafrost tundra includes vast areas of northern
Russia and Canada. The polar tundra is home to several peoples who
are mostly nomadic reindeer herders, such as the Nganasan and Nenets
in the permafrost area. The tundra biome is characterized by extremely
cold temperatures and treeless, frozen landscapes.
There are two types of tundra, the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra .
The arctic tundra is located between the north pole and the coniferous
forests or taiga region. It is characterized by extremely cold temperatures
and land that remains frozen year round. Alpine tundra occurs in frigid
mountaintop regions at very high elevations.
The alpine tundra biome is also a cold climate region with temperatures
averaging below freezing at night. This area receives more precipitation
throughout the year than the arctic tundra. The average annual precipitation
is around 20 inches. Most of this precipitation is in the form of snow.
The alpine tundra is also a very windy area. Strong winds blow at speeds
exceeding 100 miles per hour.
In physical geography, tundra is an biome where the tree growth is hindered
by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes
from Kildin Sami tundār, which means uplands, treeless mountain tract.
There are two types of tundra: Arctic tundra which also occurs in Antarctica
and alpine tundra. In tundra, the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs,
sedges and grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some
tundra. The ecotone between the tundra and the forest is known as the
tree line or timberline.
