Life-loving tundra plants

In the north of Russia, from Chukotka to Kolapeninsula, the tundra zone extends. It goes on a continuous strip and occupies no less than 14% of the Russian territory. In this zone there are very severe climatic conditions. Winter lasts up to 8 months, and the remaining time falls on a cool and short summer. And in July (the hottest month), the average temperature is only +10 degrees. Here, no one is surprised by frost or snow falling in the middle of summer. And in these harsh conditions, the plants and animals of the tundra manage to survive.

Almost on the vast territory of the tundrapermafrost is widespread. And the soil in these places thaws only in the summer and then at a shallow depth - 1.5-2 meters maximum, and often even less. And below this depth lies constantly frozen soil. And this permafrost on plants in the tundra has a strong influence. And the impact is by no means positive. After all, such a close occurrence of ice-bound soil does not allow the roots to grow in depth. They are compelled to be satisfied only with the upper layer of the soil. Also, permafrost does not let seep through the moisture. And this contributes to the emergence of marshes.

Even tundra plants are forced to adapt toa special light regime - a polar day. Here the sun rises low in summer, but it shines round the clock. And thanks to this, local plants have enough light for a short vegetation period, at least not much less than plants of medium latitudes. The intensity of light in the tundra is also higher, due to the purity and transparency of the atmosphere of this zone. And local plants have perfectly adapted to such a long day and develop well.

Thus, in the tundra the most favorable forlife is the top layer of the soil. Also there is enough heat here and in the lowest layer of air, which adjoins the earth itself. And these two layers can be measured in only a few centimeters. Therefore, it should not be surprising that many plants of tundra are of low growth and are literally spread out on the ground. And their root systems grow mainly horizontally, almost without venturing. And in these latitudes there are many plants growing, the leaves of which are gathered in a basal rosette, as well as all sorts of creeping shrubs and shrubs. They simply "learned" with maximum benefit the use of heat located at the very ground, and at the same time to fight with strong local winds.

And the main plants of the tundra are mosses and lichens. There are many kinds of them here, and they often cover huge spaces with a solid carpet. Most of these mosses and lichens are associated not only with the tundra. For example, green mosses such as hilokomium, pleurotium, kukushkin flax or lichens such as deer moss are also found in forests. But there are also species of these plants that can be found only in the tundra. All of them perfectly tolerate the climate of the tundra. These plants can hibernate both under the snow cover, and without it.

But the vegetation cover of the tundra is not somonotonous. In some places, a carpet of moss and lichen is diluted with a mossy marsh. In other places, mainly shrubs grow - Alpine bearberry, partridge grass, blueberry, Veronica. And closer to the forest-tundra zone there are shrub thickets consisting of low birch and willow trees. Also, the layer of permafrost is closer to the forests and river valleys slightly deeper. The winds in these places are also not so severe. And here you can find trees, such as larch and birch. But these tundra plants are very pitiful, their height is not more than 6 meters.

And in the summer in the tundra at all for a shortvarious flowers such as forget-me-nots, polar poppies, bells, dandelions, buttercups, saxifrage and others bloom. Plants growing here are mostly evergreen and perennial. They no longer need to lose valuable time each year to grow and develop, as well as to turn out foliage. But they grow slowly, gaining a few millimeters per year. Also, closer to the autumn, various berries such as cloudberry, prince, cranberries, cranberries and blueberries are ripening here.