Greenlands Arctic and Alpine Tundra

Arctic & Alpine Tundra Biome

Jordyn.W

Food Chain

Enviromental

Greenland Inuit

Human Food sources:

• They harvest in the fall, harvesting mostly berries, seaweed, and roots.
• The citizens hunt in the spring, hunting mostly reindeer, muskox and polarbears.

Animal Life

Greenlands Artic biome faces many enviromental issues such as global warming and a lack of biodiversity. Recent enviromental studies have shown that the warming temperatures are causing Greenlands ice cover to melt at a increasingly fast rate. This can cause implications for future sea levels and ocean currents. However the melting ice increases access to Greenlands mineral resources, which can provide the area with a promising source of income. Because of the large fishing industry, the schools of fish are depleting, causing a dip in the biodiversity. The WWF has been activly working in the area to enforce anti-sealing and anti-whaling laws.

Greenland Inuit only came to Greenland after the Little Ice Age in 1300 A.D. The ice age turned Greenland into a colder and more inhospitable region. However the Thule people did not seem to mind the harsh climate and short summers. The Thule people were drawn to Greenland because of its iron enriched soil, they were whale ad seal hunters and were most likely the first people to bring dog sledding to Greenland.

Vegitation

Kalaallit Nannat High Arctic and Alpine Tundra

There are seven dominate animals species in Greenlands artic biome, the arctic fox, the arctic hare, the arctic wolf, reindeer, polar bears, muskox, and the ermine.

Modern Populations

Ermine

Polar Bear

Mustela erminea

Ursus maritimus

The polar bear is a marine mammal because it spends so many months of the year at sea. Its prefered habitat is the sea ice that covers the waters of the continental shelf. Polar bears can scavenge berries, roots, rodents, but prefer to hunt seals, muskox, and reindeer.

The artic ermine hunts small and large rodents. Its habitat varies from rock piles to under tree roots, and stumps. It will also use the nest or burrow of its prey after killing it.

Greenland has a population less that 57'000, 15'000 of which live in the capital Nuuk. Sealing, whaling, fishing and hunting are the main sources of income in Greenland, as well as a growing tourism industry. The people of Greenland face many social problems, like high unemployment rates and alcholism.

Reindeer

Muskox

Rangifer tarandus

Ovibos moschatus

Reindeer feed on mostly producers, such as mosses, lichens and on the leaves of willow and birch trees. If vegitation is to sparse, they will feed on small rodents if no other option is present. They migrate between grasslands and mountain ranges. The largest heard in Greenland had a population of over 98'000.

The muskox migrate to wet areas, such as river valleys for the summer, and then mountain ranges in the winter. Their diet consists of mainly grasses.

Plants in the artic biome are specifically adapted to live in the extreme climates, to edure dark sunless winters and survive off of low precipitation. The vegitation is sparse and isnt highly developed due to the brief and cold growing seasons. There are only 1'700 native plants species to this biome. Greenland is one of the worlds largest national parks.

Common Cottengrass

Reindeer Moss

Eriophorum angustifolium

Bibliography

Caldonia ranigerina

Apline Foxtail

Kindom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Genius: Eriophorum

Species: angustifolium

Alopercurus alpinus

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Lycophyta

Genius: Caldonia

Species: rangifernia

Wikipedia,. 'Eriophorum Angustifolium'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Greenlandic Cuisine'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Greenlandic Inuit'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Muskox'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Polar Bear'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Reindeer'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Wikipedia,. 'Stoat'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Worldwildlife.org,. 'Kalaallit Nunaat High Arctic Tundra | Ecoregions | WWF'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015

References

BBC News,. 'Greenland Profile'. N.p., 2014. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Greenlandholiday.com,. 'Greenland's Weather And Climate'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Marietta.edu,. 'The Tundra Biome'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Mce.k12tn.net,. 'Artic And Alpine Tundra'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Norden.org,. 'Facts About Greenland — Nordic Cooperation'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Tutorvista.com,. 'Abiotic Factors Of The Tundra | Tutorvista.Com'. N.p., 2015. Web. 7 Jan. 2015.

Common cottengrass flower in April or May, and after feritlization they develop distinct white bristle-like seed-heads that resemble tuffs of cotten. Eriophorum angustifolium is a monocot angiosperm. They were used as a substitute in the production of paper, pillows, and wound-dressings.

The common name reindeer moss is misleading, because Caladonia rangierina is a lichen not a moss. Like other lichens it is slow growing, and as its name suggests is a important food for reindeer. Medicinally it is used to help with the removal of kidney stones.

Kindom: Plantae

Phylum: Tracheophyta

Genuis: Alopercurus

Species: Alpinus

Like the sulphur-coloured buttercup, the alpine foxtail is slow growing. The alpine foxtail can no longer survive in warmer climates due to its adaptations. Alpine foxtail is a monocot angiosperm.

The Northern part of the island is mostly covered in ice and snow

Climate

• The yearly precipitation of the arctic biome is less than 25.4 cm, compaired to Sidney's yearly precipitation of 89 cm, this is significantly less.
• The monthly temperature in the winter season is -38°C, and a average summer temperature of 2°C. The average daily temperature is less than -5°C.
• In Greenlands arctic biome durring the summer there is 24 hour sunlight that causes a major increase in plant growth. Durring the middle of winter little to no sunlight is avalable in the arctic regions.
• The lower soil is permanentally frozen, which is called a permafrost. Plants have adapted to live off the thin soil avalable to them.
• Greenland experiences a meteorological phenomena called Fohn Winds. These are winds are sudden and sometimes violet, that sweep across the ice caps, to the coast raising the temperatures by 10-20°C.
• The lower air presure in the biome results in such low teperature

The Southern Part of the island is occupied by an Arctic amd Alpine Tundra Biome

Table of Contents

1. Map and Region

2. Climate

3. Vegitation

4. Animal Life

5. Food Web

6. Aboriginal People

7. Modern Population

8. Enviromental Issues