Alpine Tundra

By: Cara, Katie, and Rusty

General Characteristics• Extremely cold climate• Low biotic diversity• Simple vegetation structure• Limitation of drainage• Short season of growth and reproduction• Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material• Large population oscillations.Animals:• Mammals: pikas, marmots, mountain goats, sheep, elk• Birds: grouselike birds• Insects: springtails, beetles, grasshoppers, butterfliesThe plants are very similar to those of the arctic ones and include:• tussock grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs, and heaths

Where the Alpine Tundra is found

Maps

Climate• Bleak and Treeless place• Always cold throughout year• Sun Shines almost 24 hours a day• Never gets warmer than 45 or 50 degrees• Ice never goes away• Creates bogs• Shallow lakes that don't drain• During long winter months, the sun barely rises• Winter temperatures don't normally go above 20

degrees F• And Average -20 and -30 F• The average temperature for the warmest month

is below 50 F

• Temp. Range- 10-15 degrees Celsius

Climate 2

Climate data for Kathmandu

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high °C (°F)

18.0(64.4)

20.2(68.4)

24.3(75.7)

27.4(81.3)

28.2(82.8)

28.3(82.9)

27.7(81.9)

28.0(82.4)

27.2(81)

25.8(78.4)

22.7(72.9)

19.4(66.9)

24.8(76.6)

Average low °C (°F)

2.1(35.8)

3.8(38.8)

7.5(45.5)

11.3(52.3)

15.5(59.9)

19.0(66.2)

20.0(68)

19.7(67.5)

18.2(64.8)

13.0(55.4)

7.4(45.3)

3.0(37.4)

11.7(53.1)

Precipitation mm (inches)

14.2(0.559)

16.7(0.657)

31.2(1.228)

54.4(2.142)

114.2(4.496)

256.4(10.094

)

359.6(14.157

)

314.2(12.37)

183.1(7.209)

59.4(2.339)

7.5(0.295)

14.2(0.559)

1,425.1(56.106

)

Avg. rainy days

2 3 4 6 12 17 23 22 15 4 1 1 110

Producers• Producers

Bear Grass- Bear Grass is a long plant about 4.5 feet long. It's adaption is it's leaves are long and prickly so when an animal comes to eat it they will feel the prickles. The prickles will get stuck in their mouth. The tallest piece of bear grass was over 6 feet tall!

Bristle Cone Pine- Bristle Cone Pine is a very old plant. They were first discovered during the times of the Egyptians. Their adaption is the roots in the ground are very strong so when winds blow the tree can with stand being blown over. These are very strong trees.

Moss Campion- Moss Campion is a small pink plant that grows slowly. These plants do not need much sunlight, but lots of water. They grow between rocks and closed in spaces. Their adaptation to Alpine is that they are strong enough to with stand the cold. These plants are delicate, but do not get frosted.

Consumers• Snow Leopards are found in cold climates where they hunt since they are carnivores. They are an endangered species. In the

summer they stay in trees all day and lookout for food. In the winter is their best time to camouflage. They never have trouble finding any food. They are adapted to the cold because of their thick fur.

The Snow Leopard is quick and dangerous. They are very fierce.

Llamas like altitude. This is why they pick places like the Andes Mountains where the sun is high and the weather is just right. When llamas are wet they get sick. Llamas that are lonely sometimes do nothing and eat more increasingly when they have nothing to do. A lonely llama is not a good one. Llamas are adapted because they can climb steep mountains and rocky cliffs.

Llamas are fuzzy and tall animals. They die when they have no friends.

Chinchillas are part of the rodent family. They have mouselike features, whiskers, pointy ears, and small clawed hands. They like to live and build nests in trees. They scamper quickly while working to do there chinchilla jobs and can be found as house pets in some places. Chinchillas can jump 6 feet and eat berries, nuts, and small insects like worms. Chinchillas can escape fro their predators because they are good jumpers.

Chinchillas can be house pets. They are kept in cages.

Yaks are very vulnerable creatures. They are harsh and cruel. Yaks have long thick hair and love the cold weather. They live in heard of ten to thirty other yaks. Yaks eat grasses, straws, lichens and other shrub-like plants. Yaks are used for a sport. It is called Yak Racing. They have riders and have to swim through water. Yaks are adapted because they are strong animals and can gog through any kind of weather.

Yaks are very large, they are strong and sturdy animals.

• Mountain Goats are of least concern to endangered species protectors. They are strong an well built animals. They easily climb tall mountains and narrow paths. These goats eat grass, herbs, shrubs, lichen, straw, and twigs. Mountain Goats are very strong and fast. They are adapted to mountains because they are fast and can jump.

Mountain Goats like to sit in the grass and eat all day.

Decomposers

• Anatonchus• Clarkus• Chiloplacus

Facts• Lots of Sunshine• Very Windy• We chose Sagarmatha National Park in the Himalayas• It’s in Asia• Food Web:

Decomposer Pictures

Consumer Pictures

Bonus Info• Endangered Species•

Grizzly bearsAt one point in the 1970s, there were only 300 grizzly bears

Read more: What Are Some Endangered Species in the Alpine Tundra? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_7847992_endangered-species-alpine-tundra.html#ixzz1G8gTe5oT

one of the threatened species is the mountain goat.

Human Impacts

Some of the human impacts are the ski resorts their.

Bibliographyhttp://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/alpine.htm

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

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

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

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

http://www.nysherpainfo.com/solukhumbu

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

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

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

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ftinterface~db=all~content=a930870947~fulltext=713240928~jumptorefs=true

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andegris/sets/72157624028289497/

http://www.clarku.edu/activelearning/departments/steinbrecherfellows/2006/macklerdiary.cfm

http://nematode.unl.edu/cephacom.htm