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Geography - A LEVEL > Tundra - P > Flashcards

Tundra - P Flashcards

1
Q

What is the tundra

A

tundra is a biome which is treeless and usually barren land. It is the coldest and harshest of all biomes

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2
Q

What are the two types of tundra

A

alpine
Arctic

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3
Q

Where do alpine tundras occur

A

on mountains where trees cannot grow in the high altitudes

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4
Q

How long is the growing season in an alpine tundra

A

around 180 days

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5
Q

What plants and animals exist in alpine tundras

A

mountain goats, sheep, marmots and birds feed on low-lying plants and insects

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6
Q

Where do arctic tundras occur

A

from the edge of the Arctic Ocean down to the coniferous forest of the Taiga

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7
Q

How long is the growing season in the arctic tundra

A

50-60 days (During the short summer)

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8
Q

why can tress not root in the arctic tundra

A

as the permafrost prevents trees taking root

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9
Q

What plants and animals exist in the arctic tundra

A

arctic foxes, polar bears and caribou

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10
Q

What are the effects a of arctic permafrost melting

A
  • it alters which planets and animals can live there
  • it contains 14% of the earths carbon which is released due to melting
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11
Q

What is the distribution of tundra environments

A

-It covers 8 million km2
-Found in high latitude land masses just below the ice caps of their arctic but north of the arctic circle (66 N)

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12
Q

What is the climate of a tundra like

A

cold and dry climate:
Low ppt
Low temps

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13
Q

What is the annual precipitation in a tundra

A

150-250mm so are considered deserts

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14
Q

What is the winter average temperature of a tundra

A

-34 degrees C with lowest being 40 degrees C

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15
Q

How long will it be below 0 degrees C in the tundra

A

for 6-10 months a year

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16
Q

What are the maximum temperatures seen in the tundra

A

16 degrees C in August

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17
Q

What type of plants grow in the tundra

A

Ground vegetation - made of shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens

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18
Q

Do trees grow in the tundra

A

No

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19
Q

Why does vegetation need to be adapted

A

to withstand the tundra conditions e.g. up to 15cm high to avoid wind chill

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20
Q

How many land mammals live in the tundra

A

48 land mammals

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21
Q

Where is water usually stored in the tundra

A

In ice sheets and permafrost

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22
Q

What happens to I melting ice in the summer

A

the water pools forming lakes & ponds due to water not being able to infiltrate frozen ground

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23
Q

What is the net primary productivity in the tundra

A

200g/m2/yr

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24
Q

Why is the NPP of the tundra so low

A

as there is extremely slow decomposition due to a lack of organic matter

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25
Why are there limited rates of photosynthesis and respiration in the tundra
because there is a lack of vegetation & animals and a short growing season
26
What are the soil stores of carbon in the tundra
1700Gt - within permafrost
27
What happens when permafrost in the tundra melts
The carbon stored in it is released
28
How long is carbon stored in permafrost
For 500,000 years or until the ice Melts
29
How much carbon is stored in the atmosphere globally
750Gt globally
30
How much carbon is stored in the atmosphere above 60N
125 Gt
31
How much of the Earths oceans does the arctic account for
3%
32
How much of the oceans carbon uptake is from the arctic ocean
5 to 14% - as colder oceans can take up more CO2 as it dissolves more easily
33
What are the three physical factors of the tundra environment
- Geology - Relief - Wind
34
What is the geology of the tundra
the underlying rock is made-up of largely crystalline, impermeable rocks with some glacial deposits
35
What is the relief of the tundra
often very flat, with little relief meaning water tends to form ponds, bogs, marshes and streams
36
What is the wind of the tundra
the tundra tends to be windy, with winds blowing of upwards of 50-100km/h
37
What is freeze-thaw
the process where water continually seeps into cracks, freezes and expands causing rock to break apart
38
Which months in the tundra is there freeze/thaw
Winter - just freeze Summer - just thaw In between - freeze & thaw.
39
What is cyroturbation
the mixing of soils by the freezing and thawing of ground ice
40
What is permafrost
is the permanently frozen layer on or under the Earth’s surface
41
How cold does frozen ground worlds have to be to be permafrost
below 0 degrees for at least 2 years
42
What is the range of thickness of permafrost in the tundra
1m to 1,500 m in thickness
43
Does the tundra store more carbon than the Amazon Rainforest
yes
44
How much of the worlds moveable carbon is in tundra soils
around 1/3
45
How much of the worlds soil carbon stores are in the tundra
half of the worlds carbon soil stores
46
What happens to the tundras carbon rich soils as the ice melts
the soils could start to decompose which would release methane and CO2
47
Which biome is changing the fastest
the tundra
48
How do researchers see how much carbon plats store
They measure plants
49
Why are most tundra climates found N of the Arctic circle
Insulation is dispersed over a large area making temperatures lower
50
Where are alpine tundras mainly found
the Himalayas and tree Andes
51
What is the tree line
where the altitude is so high that trees cannot survive so the trees form a line where they stop growing
52
How tall are most tundra plants
below 15cm tall - as its hard to survive
53
What is unique about light levels in tundra environments
they are so far north they have long winter nights and summer days due to the Earth’s axis
54
Why do some tundra plants have small, thick leaves
to conserve nutrients - they grow slowly
55
Why do some tundra plants grow fast
they need to release seeds in the short growing season - die in cold months
56
Why are drones used in the tundra
to take images showing the densities of plants
57
What are the densities and types of plant data used for
they are used to give an indication of how much CO2 is fixed by the tundras plants
58
Why is running water rare in tundra environments
it is usually kept in bogs or is frozen for most of the year
59
Why does tundra land become saturated in the summer
because snow melts
60
What happens to water in the tundra during winter
it freezes again
61
What happens in areas of the tundra which do have running water
they move sediment downstream
62
What happens to waterlogged soil in the tundra
anaerobic decomposition occurs so methane is produced in bubbles
63
What happens as average temperature increase in the tundra
rates of evapotranspiration increase
64
What is the NPP in the tundra
140g/m2/yr - very low
65
Why is the NPP for the tundra so low
the plant matter is frozen
66
What happens to frozen plant matter as ice retreats
the plant matter in this layer begin to decompose
67
How much carbon doers the tundra contain (est.)
1600 gigatons of carbon
68
What have scientists used to measure how temperatures and areas affect decomposition
burried teabags for a year and then measured the new mass
69
What happens when melting leads to less ice surrounding the coast
there is more erosion of coastal areas as they are exposed to the sea for longer amounts of time - undercutting and mass movements
70
What are thaw slumps
when sediments released from permafrost create rockslides
71
As temperatures rise in the tundra what happens to the active layer
the active layer gets larger as more ground thaws every year
72
What type of feedback loop is Arctic Amplification
positive feedback loop
73
What is the process of Arctic amplification
a larger active layer - more decomposition - more C released - increases surface temp - melts more permafrost
74
What is the negative loop starting with temperature rise
temp rise - more plat growth - remove CO2 - slows speed of climate change

Geography - A LEVEL (30 decks)

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