Table Of Contentvolume
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OUR LIVING WORLD: EARTH’S BIOMES
B a r b a r a A .
Tundra S o m e r v i l l
T R A D I T I O N B O O K S ® , M A P L E P L A I N , M I N N E S O T A
A N E W T R A D I T I O N I N C H I L D R E N ’ S P U B L I S H I N G TM
Tundra
In gratitude to George R. Peterson Sr. for introducing me to the beauty of creation
®
—George R. Peterson Jr., Publisher, Tradition Books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Published in the United States of America by Tradition Books® and distributed to the school
Barbara A. Somervill is the author and library market by The Child’s World®
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
of many books for children. She loves For Editorial Directions, Inc.: E. Russell Primm, Editorial Director; Dana Meachen Rau, Line
Editor; Katie Marsico, Associate Editor; Judi Shiffer, Associate Editor and Library Media
Specialist; Matthew Messbarger, Editorial Assistant; Susan Hindman, Copy Editor; Lucia
learning and sees every writing
Raatma, Proofreaders; Ann Grau Duvall, Peter Garnham, Deborah Grahame, Katie
Marsico, Elizabeth K. Martin, and Kathy Stevenson, Fact Checkers; Tim Griffin/IndexServ,
project as a chance to learn new Indexer; Cian Loughlin O’Day, Photo Researcher; Linda S. Koutris, Photo Selector
For The Design Lab: Kathleen Petelinsek, design, art direction, and cartography;
information or gain a new under- Kari Thornborough, page production
[PHOTOS]
standing. Ms. Somervill grew up in
Cover/frontispiece: Corbis.
Interior: Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 16 (Bradley W. Stahl), 38 (Studio Carlo Dani), 62
New York State, but has also lived in (Erwin & Peggy Bauer), 67 (Maria Zorn), 73 (McDonald Wildlife Photography), 81 (Breck
P. Kent), 88 (OSF/Doug Allan); W. Perry Conway/Corbis: 41, 57; Corbis: 8 (Liz Hymans), 12
(Andrew Brown; Ecoscene), 15 (Wolfgang Kaehler), 20 (Dave G. Houser), 30 (Arthur
Toronto, Canada; Canberra, Australia; Morris), 32 (Steve Kaufman), 33 (Eric and David Hosking), 42 (Charles Mauzy), 47 (Tom
Brakefield), 54 (Lowell Georgia), 55 (Scott T. Smith), 59 (Kevin Schafer), 60 (Hubert
Stadler), 64 (Joe McDonald), 84 (John Noble); Michael DeFreitas: 75; Dembinsky Photo
California; and South Carolina. She
Associates: 21 (Pekka Parvianinen), 46 (Darrell Gulin), 53 (Dominique Braud); Digital
Vision: 28, 50, 83; Patrick Endres/Alaskaphotographics.com: 51, 52, 58, 69, 76, 78; Frank
currently lives with her husband in Lane Picture Agency/Corbis: 22 (Philip Perry), 80 (Roger Wilmhurst); D. Robert & Lorri
Franz/Corbis: 35, 37; Getty Images/Brand X Pictures: 9; Darrell Gulin/Corbis: 48, 91;
Wolfgang Kaehler: 27; A. Kuznetsov/Art Directors & TRIP Photo Library: 7; Photodisc: 18,
Simpsonville, South Carolina. 24, 26, 36, 39, 43, 61, 68, 70, 77, 90; Robert Pickett/Corbis: 66, 82; Crii Rad/Constantin
Blanc/Corbis Sygma: 86; Galen Rowell/Corbis: 5, 11; Gary Schultz: 17, 44, 89; Kennan
Ward/Corbis: 23, 34, 49; Peter Weimann/Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 4, 29.
[L IBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA]
CONTENT ADVISER CIP data available
Susan Woodward, Professor of
Geography, Radford University,
Radford, Virginia
✹
Table of Contents
[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
4 Defining Arctic and Alpine Tundra
[ C h a p t e r T w o ]
22 Focus on Key Species
[ C h a p t e r T h r e e ]
32 Predators
[ C h a p t e r F o u r ]
43 Prey
[ C h a p t e r F i v e ]
51 Flora
[ C h a p t e r S i x ]
59 Herbivores
[ C h a p t e r S e v e n ]
69 A Cycle of Life
[ C h a p t e r E i g h t ]
74 The Breeding Season
[ C h a p t e r N i n e ]
82 The Human Touch
9 2 [ C h a r t o f S p e c i e s ]
9 3 [ I n d e x ]
✹
Table of Contents
[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
1
✹ A snow leopard leaps over
Defining snowdrifts in the Himalaya
Mountains. Her thick fur keeps
Arctic and her warm in winter. Like most
snow leopards, this female
Alpine cat lives alone. She is 4 feet
(1.2 meters) long and weighs
Tundra 80 pounds (36 kilograms),
4
Defining Arctic and Alpine Tundra
A herd of Tibetan blue sheep keeps a watchful eye out for hungry snow leopards.
about the size of a big dog. A herd of Hima- ? WORDS TO KNOW . . .
She hunts with skill and cun- layan blue sheep ibexes (EYE-beks-ez) a large
ning. She can bring down paws the ground variety of wild goats
Himalayan tahrs and ibexes nearby. The leopard tahrs (TARZ) long-haired mem-
equal to her own weight. keeps downwind of bers of the wild Asian goat fam-
Today, her hunt leads her the sheep. The ily found only in the Himalayas
into a valley. The leopard sheep neither hear
crouches down against the nor smell her approach. She
snow. Her gray-spotted white slinks forward, then leaps. The
fur blends in against snow- herd scatters. They bound onto
capped rocks. sheer, rocky cliffs to escape.
A snow leopard prowls the alpine tundra of Asia’s Himalaya Mountains. 5
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
? WORDS TO KNOW . . . The leopard’s Tundra supports fewer
biomes (BYE-ohmz) large search for food has types of plants and animals
ecosystems in which the failed. She’ll try than most other biomes. It
plants and animals are adapted again, but next time, seems like a barren, heartless
to a particular climate or physi- a hare becomes the land. Yet it is filled with life.
cal environment target. Hares are About 1,700 different plants
ecosystems (EE-koh-siss-tuhmz) easier to catch than grow in arctic and subarctic
communities of plants and sheep. They also ecosystems. These include
animals and their relationships make a decent meal. grasses, sedges, lichens, wild-
with the surrounding environ- Snow leopards can’t flowers, and shrubs. The plant
ments be choosy about varieties growing within each
what they eat. There region depend on soil quali-
is too little prey available high ty, weather, and water supply.
in the Himalayas of Asia. There are far fewer animal
species than plants. The
Two Types of Tundra
number of animals depends
✹ Tundra comes from the on available food. The ability
Lapp word tundar. It means to adapt to harsh weather
“treeless plain”—an accurate also limits the variety of
description. Only short, stunt- tundra animals.
ed trees survive the rugged Tundra exists in two
tundra climate. Those trees are forms, alpine and Arctic.
hard to find. Alpine tundra covers
A tree like this one is a rarity on Siberian tundra.
6
Most tundra trees hug close to the ground.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
mountain areas above rainfall, and short ? WORDS TO KNOW . . .
the tree line. Arctic tundra growing seasons. tree line (TREE LINE) the maxi-
occurs within or near Few humans live mum elevation at which trees
the Arctic Circle. Both in tundra environ- will grow
feature cold climates, little ments.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
tudes—about 8,500 feet
Alpine Tundra
(2,700 m). Usually, alpine
✹ Alpine tundra is found in tundra starts between 10,000
Africa, Asia, Europe, South and 11,000 feet (3,050 and
America, and North America. 3,350 m) in altitude.
Tundra begins at At high altitudes, tempera-
? WORDS TO KNOW . . . different altitudes tures drop and high winds
altitudes (AL-ti-toodz) eleva- in every alpine sys- whip the landscape. High alti-
tions above sea level tem, depending on tudes also have thinner air.
where trees stop Animals have less oxygen to
growing. It starts above the breathe. Plants make do with
tree line. In the Himalaya lower levels of carbon dioxide,
Mountains, tundra begins at the gas they need to live.
about 14,750 feet (4,500 m). Many animals and plants
Rocky Mountain tundra to the cannot adjust to thinner air
north may begin at lower alti- or harsh weather.
In winter, alpine tundra can present a rather bleak landscape.
All alpine tundra ecosys- Average alpine tundra
tems endure odd weather temperatures range from –2°
patterns. Summer mornings to 50° Fahrenheit (–19° to 10°
might start sunny and warm. Celsius). Temperatures on
Yet the day could end with a exposed cliffs and rocky land
snowstorm. Sometimes, the drop much lower in winter.
snow falls so thick it creates a Snowfall may be heavy, though
whiteout. People cannot see the region is usually dry.
more than a few feet in front Alpine tundra animals find
of them in a whiteout. ways to cope with the cold.
Pikes Peak, Colorado, is one of the most frequently climbed mountains in
9
North America.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
Bears hibernate. This means at lower altitudes. They must
that they fill up on food in the hunt food through the winter.
fall and sleep through the worst Most alpine birds, including
winter weather. Wolves and birds of prey, migrate south.
mountain lions move to forests They head for warmer weather.
Arctic Arctic
G R E E N L A N D
Arctic Ocean Ocean
75˚N Ocean
60˚N
E U R O P E
45˚N A S I A
N O R T H
A M E R I C A
30˚N Atlantic Pacific
Ocean Ocean
Pacific A F R I C A
15˚N
Ocean
0˚
S O U T H
A M E R I C A Indian
15˚S
Ocean
A U S T R A L I A
30˚S
N
45˚S
Alpine Tundra
60˚S
165˚W 150˚W 135˚W 120˚W 105˚W 90˚W 75˚W 60˚W 45˚W 30˚W 15˚W 0˚ 15˚E 30˚E 45˚E 60˚E 75˚E 90˚E 105˚E 120˚E 135˚E 150˚E 165˚E
Alpine tundra regions of the world
10
