This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(January 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
The location of the tundra in North America is highlighted in light blue.
The Tundra of North America is a Level I ecoregion of North America designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas.
One of the planet's most recent biomes, a result of the last ice age only 10,000 years ago, the tundra contains unique flora and fauna formed during the last glaciation in areas unrestricted by permanent ice. The tundra region is found in high latitudes, primarily in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia, as well as the Antarctic Islands. Consisting of the arctic, alpine, and Antarctic regions, and stemming from the Samer language, tundra literally means a "high and dry place".
The arctic tundra has an exceptionally short growing period, minimal sunlight, and limited resources, creating a brutal environment for plants and animals. By adapting to these harsh conditions, animals and plants represent iconic characteristics of the tundra. Plants grow in aggregated formations which provide shelter from wind, and ice and also improve seed success.[1] Animals have adapted with specialized organs, such as a rete mirabile, an organ that efficiently transfers heat. Frogs and amphibians use "anti-freeze" to prevent organ damage while hibernating. Polar bears, foxes, and owls use insulated fur and feathers to protect from the cold conditions.[2] These complex interactions between plants, animals and abiotic factors in the tundra are held together by the permafrost layer, located 450 metres (1,480 ft) under the soil.[3] However climate change is causing this crucial layer of frozen soil to melt. As a result, tundra communities are becoming unstable and basic processes are breaking down. Other factors such as oil development and drilling in tundra ecosystems have completely disheveled the wildlife and vegetation populations. Tundra exploration vehicles used for oil development and polar bear tours ("an eco-friendly" industry) leave traces of tire marks for 20-plus years after a disturbance occurs. Other factors such as high CO2 emissions from tourism and from warming tundra soil, create a positive feedback loop, accelerating changes to the tundra.[4]
^Fletcher, B; Gornal; Poyatos; Press; Stoy; Huntley; Baxter; Pheonis (2012). "Photosynthesis and productivity in heterogeneous arctic tundra: consequences for ecosystems function of mixing vegetation types at stand edges" (PDF). Journal of Ecology. 100 (2): 441–451. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2745.2011.01913.x.
^"Tundra Animals". Archived from the original on 10 December 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^"Dry, Cold and Windy". 12 February 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010.
^"Potential impacts of proposed oil and gas development on the Arctic Refuge's coastal plain: Historical overview and issues of concern". Archived from the original on 29 May 2004.
and 26 Related for: Tundra of North America information
The TundraofNorthAmerica is a Level I ecoregion ofNorthAmerica designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American...
the Tundra was the first full-size pickup from a Japanese manufacturer to be built in NorthAmerica. The Tundra was nominated for the NorthAmerican Truck...
regions of alpine tundra occur in the NorthAmerican Cordillera and parts of the northern Appalachian Mountains in NorthAmerica, the Alps and Pyrenees of Europe...
regions and associated types oftundra: Arctic tundra, alpine tundra, and Antarctic tundra. Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses...
NorthAmerica is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. NorthAmerica is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic...
Plata. Since the Americas extend 14,000 km (8,700 mi) from north to south, the climate and ecology vary widely, from the arctic tundraof Northern Canada...
species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America...
This is a list ofNorthAmerican mammals. It includes all mammals currently found in the United States, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Canada, Greenland, Bermuda...
lists of birds in the light blue box below are divided by biological family. The lists are based on The AOS Check-list ofNorthAmerican Birds of the American...
It is found in the Arctic tundraofNorthAmerica to Greenland, and migrates to wintering grounds in Central and South America. Most vagrants that reach...
NorthAmerica is the third largest continent, and is also a portion of the third largest supercontinent if North and South America are combined into the...
In NorthAmerican mythologies, common themes include a close relation to nature and animals as well as belief in a Great Spirit that is conceived of in...
The tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus) is a small swan of the Holarctic. The two taxa within it are usually regarded as conspecific, but are also sometimes...
to the edge of the tundra from Alaska and northern Canada east to New England and then south to Maryland, northwestern Virginia, and North Carolina. It...
coastal tundra is a small ecoregion of the far northofNorthAmerica, on the central north coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut...
known as steppe-tundra, was once the Earth's most extensive biome. It stretched east-to-west, from the Iberian Peninsula in the west of Europe, across...
found in the high Arctic tundraofNorthAmerica, Ellesmere Island, Iceland, higher mountains of Scotland, Norway, Russia, North Greenland, Siberia, Novaya...
The Canadian Arctic tundra is a biogeographic designation for Northern Canada's terrain generally lying northof the tree line or boreal forest, that corresponds...
The Alaskan tundra wolf (Canis lupus tundrarum), also known as the barren-ground wolf, is a NorthAmerican subspecies of gray wolf native to the barren...
breeds in the open arctic tundraofNorthAmerica. It is a long-distance migrant, wintering mainly in northern South America. It occurs as a rare vagrant...
Toyota Motor NorthAmerica (TMNA) is the operating subsidiary that oversees all operations of the Toyota Motor Corporation in Canada, Mexico, and the United...
Beringia lowland tundra is a tundra ecoregion ofNorthAmerica, on the west coast of Alaska, mostly covered in wetland. These are areas of flat, wet, lowland...
Types of rangelands include tallgrass and shortgrass prairies, desert grasslands and shrublands, woodlands, savannas, chaparrals, steppes, and tundras. Rangelands...
manufactured by Toyota mainly for the NorthAmerican market since 2000 for the 2001 model year, being derived from the Tundra pickup truck. It is the second...
Global Information
