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tundra

In physical geography, a tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic.

AI overview

A tundra is a vast, treeless landscape found in extremely cold regions like the Arctic and Antarctica, where harsh temperatures and brief growing seasons prevent trees from surviving. These unique environments support specialized plants and animals adapted to extreme cold, making them important ecosystems that are increasingly affected by climate change.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Ecoregion.name: Tundra
Ecoregion.map: File:Tundra Wiki 200.png
Ecoregion.map_size: 1000
Ecoregion.climate: ET
Ecoregion.image: Greenland scoresby-sydkapp2 hg.jpg
Ecoregion.image_caption: Tundra in Greenland
Ecoregion.area: 11563300

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

2,757 papers

Wayfinding across ocean and tundra: what traditional cultures teach us about navigation.ReviewTrends in cognitive sciences · 2024Fernandez-Velasco P, Spiers HJDOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.09.004
Four Days in the Tundra.Wilderness & environmental medicine · 2023Albala LDOI: 10.1016/j.wem.2023.07.007
Plant traits inform predictions of tundra responses to global change.ReviewThe New phytologist · 2019Myers-Smith IH, Thomas HJD, Bjorkman ADDOI: 10.1111/nph.15592
Tundra Soil Viruses Mediate Responses of Microbial Communities to Climate Warming.mBio · 2023Ji M, Fan X, Cornell CR et al.DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03009-22
Setaria tundra, what do we know, what is still to be discovered?Annals of parasitology · 2021Grzegorz O, Julita N, Renata WFDOI: 10.17420/ap6701.306
Effects of large herbivores on tundra vegetation in a changing climate, and implications for rewilding.ReviewPhilosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2018Olofsson J, Post EDOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0437
Selenium volatilization from tundra soils in maritime Antarctica.Environment international · 2021Ye W, Yuan L, Zhu R et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2020.106189
Borealisation of Plant Communities in the Arctic Is Driven by Boreal-Tundra Species.ReviewEcology letters · 2025García Criado M, Barrio IC, Speed JDM et al.DOI: 10.1111/ele.70209

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Greenland scoresby-sydkapp2 hg.jpg

Show 3 more facts

Commons category: Tundra
Commons gallery: Tundra
exact match: purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_00000112

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~12 min read

Article

9 sections

Contents

Etymology
Relationship to climate change
Antarctic
Alpine
Climatic classification
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions. The ecotone (or ecological boundary region) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline. The tundra soil is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus. The soil also contains large amounts of biomass and decomposed biomass that has been stored as methane and carbon dioxide in the permafrost, making the tundra soil a carbon sink. As global warming heats the ecosystem and causes soil thawing, the permafrost carbon cycle accelerates and releases much of these soil-contained greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, creating a feedback cycle that contributes to climate change.