Polar Regions are the areas located around the North and the South Pole. The Arctic Circle in found at the North Pole and the Antarctic Circle in found at the South Pole.
Tundra are areas of land characterised by low temperatures, minimal plant growth and short growing seasons.
Tundra are areas of land characterised by low temperatures, minimal plant growth and short growing seasons.
Characteristics of Polar Regions:
Climate:-
- long cold winters with annual (yearly) temperatures mostly below freezing
- often windy
- very little precipitation (rain)
- permanent ice caps
- soil is covered in ice all year
- there are hundreds of species (types) of moss, algae and lichen
- very few other plants can survive
- Polar bears live in the Arctic
- Penguins live in the Antarctic
- Whales, seals and snowy owls can also be found in the polar regions
Characteristics of Tundra Regions:
Climate:-
- cold and windy
- very little rainfall
- average temperature in the Arctic Tundra ranges between -12 and -6
- Summer lasts for 50 - 60 days and is permanent daylight
- snow covers the ground for much of the year
- Permafrost - a layer of frozen soil under the earths surface
- high in organic matter because it is too cold for organisms to decompose
- trees can not grow in the tundra
- small plants flower when the snow melts
- cushion plants grow between rocks in the mountainous areas
- arctic foxes, polar bears, grey wolves, caribou, snow geese and musk-oxen
- in mountainous areas goats, sheet and marmots can be found
- in summer shallow lakes and bogs appear which attract some insects, birds and other wildlife