Tundra

The Tundra
The tundra is cold year-round—it has short cool summers and long, severe winters. The tundra has a permanently frozen sublayer of soil called permafrost. Drainage is poor due to the permafrost and because of the cold, evaporation is slow. The tundra receives little precipitation, about 4 to 10 inches per year, and what it does receive is usually in the form of snow or ice. It has long days during the growing season, sometimes with 24 hours of daylight, and long nights during the winter. There is little diversity of species. Plant life is dominated by mosses, grasses, and sedges.

Tundra Plant Adaptations

Tundra plants are small (usually less than 12 inches tall) and low-growing due to lack of nutrients, because being close to the ground helps keep the plants from freezing, and because the roots cannot penetrate the permafrost.
Plants are dark in color—some are even red—this helps them absorb solar heat.
Some plants are covered with hair which helps keep them warm.
Some plants grow in clumps to protect one another from the wind and cold.
Some plants have dish-like flowers that follow the sun, focusing more solar heat on the center of the flower, helping the plant stay warm.


These tundra plants are low-growing.	This plant grows in a clump to help conserve heat.

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