ALPINE TUNDRA

“The Land Above the Trees”

“Tundra”

• Russian: “land of no trees”• Has great appeal to people…. Why?• Everything in miniature:

– “Sky the size of forever & flowers the size of a millisecond” (Ann Zwinger)

Tundra Extent

• Alpine tundra = more uniform throughout northern hemisphere thtan any other biome on Earth!! WHY?

Extent of Alpine Tundra Biome:

Environment

• What is the environment like in the Alpine zone?

• How do changes in 4 major climatic factors affect vegetation?

• What adaptations must plants have to these conditions?

Alpine Plants:

Alpine Plants:

Alpine Plants: Cushions

Only Annual plant in Rocky Mountain Alpine:

• Koenigia islandica• Circumpolar species

Alpine Animals:

• What adaptations must animals have to live in the tundra?

• Do any live in the tundra year round?– Why? OR – Why not?

• What kinds of animals are missing from the tundra?

Alpine Animals:

• White-tailed Ptarmigan• What do they eat?

Alpine Animals:

• Pika (“rock rabbit”)

Alpine Animals:

• Marmot

Alpine Animals:

• Big horn sheep• Mountain Goat

Treeline:

• What do trees look like at treeline?

• “krummholz” = “elfin wood”

• “flagging”

Treeline:

• A dynamic equilibrium

Treeline:

• Tree waves moving across the landscape• Dwarf

spruce & fir trees:

Treeline:• What factors control treeline?• How do these factors interact?

Climate Change?

• What impact will warming global climate have on the alpine tundra life zone/biome?

Loss of pika populations during the 20th century in the intermountain West, at different elevations and latitudes. Open circles represent sites in the interior Great Basin where pikas remain extant, and closed circles represent pika populations that became extirpated in the late 20th century.

www.yosemite.org/naturenotes/Pika2.htm