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Archive for October, 2007
Alpine Tundra Food Web
October 23, 2007Plants in the Alpine Tundra
October 23, 2007Due to the harsh climate, poor soil conditions, and the high altitude, trees are unable to grow in the alpine tundra.
Most plant life are shrubby or small leafy plants such as the alpine bluegrass.
Alpine Bluegrass:
Alpine Tundra Soil – Order Gelisols
October 22, 2007Gelisols refers to the soil order with a layer of permafrost within 2 meters of the surface that is usually found in cold climates. Due to the harsh conditions in which it exists, gelisols only supports about 0.4% of the world’s population – the lowest percentage of any of the soil orders.
Gelisols occupies around 9.1% of the Earth’s ice-free area. Since the soil temperature is low, soil-forming processes such as decomposition (of organic material) may take a long time. Because of this, Gelisols soil stores large amounts of organic carbon.
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Animal Life in Alpine Tundras
October 7, 2007Pika (also known as rock rabbits or coneys)-
- Order: Lagomorpha
- Family: Ochotonidae
- Small, round, egg-shaped herbivores, rodent like creature that feeds on green plants.
- There are two types of pikas: those that occupy rocks or piles of talus and those that live in meadow or steppe environments and construct burrows.
- Rock-dwelling pikas are asocial and usually live alone or in pairs. On the other hand, pikas that live in meadows are extremely social and they live in family burrow system territories.
- Pikas spend most of their day sitting on top of a prominent rock while surveying their area. When they do patrol the area, they rub their cheek glands on rocks to mark their territory.
- Class: Aves
- Order: Galliformes
- Family: Tetraonidae
- Genus: Lagopus
- A medium-sized bird in the grouse family.
- It is camouflaged according to the season. Its feathers are white in the winter but they shed to a brown color during spring or summer.
- They normally feed on birch, willow buds, and catkins. The young may feed on inscests.
Elk (Cervus canadensis)