TUNDRA

Matt, Courtney, Carina

WHERE IS ECOSYSTEM LOCATED?

• Located in the far northern part of the world by the North Pole

• One fifth of earth’s surface is Tundra including parts of Canada, Alaska, Russia, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway

DESCRIBE THE ABIOTIC FACTORS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM • Permafrost soil frozen most of the year\

surface thaws in summer

• In the winter average temperatures it is -30 degrees F

• The sun does not rise for several months, when it does it is only for a short time

PRODUCER: LICHEN. HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCER RELY ON OTHER ORGANISMS IN THE TUNDRA TO SURVIVE? • Need rainwater to live

• Algae make food to feed lichen

• Need to attach to rocks, can’t attach to ground

• Lichen grow healthy, air quality is good

HOW DO OTHER ORGANISMS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM RELY ON YOUR PRODUCER TO SURVIVE? • Springtails (tiny insects) live inside Lichen

• Caribou and reindeer eat reindeer Lichen

• Artic Gulls and other birds eat Lichen

HOW DO HUMANS AFFECT YOUR ECOSYSTEM? • Humans create air pollution from factories,

homes, and cars burning oil that kills lichens

• Global warming is having an effect on Polar bears

• Footprints and tire tracks cause harm

• Pollution harms polar plants

• Buildings and vehicles burn coal and oil that is harmful

CHOOSE ONE BIOTIC OR ABIOTIC FACTOR IN YOUR ECOSYSTEM & DESCRIBE HOW A CHANGE IN ONE OF THESE COULD YOUR ECOSYSTEM.

• Change: Earth is getting warmer

• Ice breaking apart

• Polar bears spending more time on land

• They don’t eat much on land

• They risk starving

• Fish and seals would multiply

• The water would get crowded

OTHER INTERESTING FACTS:

• Some people use club moss branches to make holiday wreaths

• Some polar plants are healthy to eat and arctic summer berries are used to make jam

• Branch lichens are used in model train sets

• Large feet help animals walk on top like snowshoes

SOURCES USED

• Welch, Catherine A. Polar Plants. Mankato, MN: Capstone, 2006. Print

• Johansson, Philip. The Frozen Tundra. Berkeley Heights , NJ: Enslow Publishers Inc., 2004. Print.