Life-loving tundra plants

In the north of Russia, from Chukotka and to the Kola Peninsula, the tundra zone extends. It goes on a continuous strip and occupies no less than 14% of the Russian territory. In this zone there are very severe climatic conditions. Winter lasts up to 8 months, and the remaining time falls on a cool and short summer. And in July (the hottest month), the average temperature is only +10 degrees. Here, no one is surprised by frost or snow falling in the middle of summer. And in these harsh conditions, the plants and animals of the tundra manage to survive.

Almost throughout the vast territory of the tundra, permafrost is widespread. And the soil in these places thaws only in the summer and then at a shallow depth - 1.5-2 meters maximum, and often even less. And below this depth lies constantly frozen ground. And this permafrost on plants in the tundra has a strong influence. And the impact is far from positive. After all, such a close occurrence of ice-bound soil does not allow the roots to grow in depth. They are compelled to be satisfied only with the upper layer of the soil. Also, permafrost does not allow seeping down moisture. And this contributes to the emergence of marshes.

Even the tundra plants are forced to adapt to a special light regime - the polar day. Here the sun rises low in summer, but it shines round the clock. And due to this, local plants during the short growing season manage to get quite enough light, at least not much less than plants of medium latitudes. The intensity of light in the tundra is also higher, due to the purity and transparency of the atmosphere of this zone. And the local plants perfectly adapted to this long day and develop well.

Thus, in the tundra, the top layer of soil is the most favorable for life. Also there is enough heat here and in the lowest layer of air, which adjoins the earth itself. And these two layers can be measured only a few centimeters. Therefore, it should not be surprising that many tundra plants are of low growth and are literally spread out on the ground. And their root systems grow mainly horizontally, almost without venturing. And in these latitudes there are many plants growing, the leaves of which are gathered in a basal rosette, as well as all sorts of creeping shrubs and shrubs. They simply "learned" the maximum use of heat from the ground, and at the same time to fight with strong local winds.

And the main plants of the tundra are mosses and lichens. There are many kinds of them here, and they often cover huge spaces with a continuous carpet. Most of these mosses and lichens are associated not only with the tundra. For example, such green mosses as hilokomium, pleurotium, kukushkin flax or lichens such as deer moss are also found in forests. But there are also species of these plants that can be found only in the tundra. All of them perfectly tolerate the climate of the tundra. These plants can hibernate both under the snow cover and without it.

But the vegetation cover of the tundra is not so monotonous. In some places, a carpet of moss and lichen is diluted with a moss swamp. In other places, mainly shrubs grow - Alpine bearberry, partridge grass, blueberry, Veronica. And closer to the forest-tundra zone there are shrub thickets consisting of low birch and willow trees. Also, closer to the forests and river valleys, the layer of permafrost is slightly deeper. The winds in these places are also not so severe. And here you can find trees, such as larch and birch. But these tundra plants have a very pitiful appearance, their height is not more than 6 meters.

And in the summer in the tundra for a short time, various flowers blossom, such as forget-me-nots, polar poppies, bells, dandelions, buttercups, saxifrage and others. Plants growing here are mostly evergreen and perennial. They no longer need to lose valuable time each year for growth and development, as well as for pasturing foliage. But they grow slowly, gaining a few millimeters per year. Also, closer to the autumn, various berries such as cloudberries, prince, cranberries, cranberries and blueberries are ripening here.