In northern Russia, from Chukotka to the Kola Peninsula and extends tundra zone.It is a continuous band and takes no less - 14% of the Russian territory.This area is very harsh climatic conditions.Winter here lasts up to 8 months, and the remaining time falls on a cool and short summers.And in July (the hottest month) the average temperature is only 10 degrees.Here, no one is surprised or frozen snow that fell in the middle of summer.In these harsh conditions, manage to survive tundra plants and animals.
Almost all the vast territory spread tundra permafrost.And the soil thaws in these areas in the summer, and then at a shallow depth - 1.5-2 meters high, and often less.And below this depth is permanently frozen ground.And the permafrost on the plants in the tundra has a strong influence.Moreover, the impact is not positive.It is close proximity of ice-bound soil does not allow the roots to grow deep down.They are forced to settle for topsoil.Also, permafrost does not allow moisture to seep down.And it contributes to the marshes.
More tundra plants are forced to adapt to a special light regime - the polar day.Here the sun rises in the summer is low, but shines around the clock.And thanks to native plants during the growing season short time to get enough light, at least not much smaller plants middle latitudes.The light intensity in tundra also higher, due to the purity and transparency of the atmosphere in this zone.And native plants have adapted well to this day prolonged and well-developed.
Thus, in the tundra the most favorable for the life of a top layer of soil.Also there is enough heat and the lowest layer of air which is adjacent to the land itself.These two layers can be measured only a few centimeters.Therefore it is not surprising that many tundra plants of medium height and literally flattened on the ground.Their root systems grow mostly horizontally, hardly venturing.In these latitudes, growing many plants whose leaves collected in the rosette, and all creeping shrubs and bushes.They simply "learned" to capitalize on the heat located near the ground, and at the same time to deal with strong local winds.
And the main plants of the tundra - is mosses and lichens.They are quite a lot of species, and they often cover vast expanses of continuous carpet.Most of these mosses and lichens are associated not only with tundra.For example, green mosses such as hilokomium, plevrotsium Kukushkin flax or reindeer moss, lichen types are found in the forests.But there are also those types of plants that can be found only in the tundra.All of them are perfectly transferred tundra climate.These plants can spend the winter under the snow like, and without it.
But tundra vegetation is not so monotonous.In some places, the carpet of moss and lichen moss bog diluted.Elsewhere, growing mainly shrubs - alpine bearberry, kuropatochya grass, blueberries, Veronica.And closer to the forest-tundra zone there are scrub consisting of dwarf birch and willow.Also close to the forests and river valleys in the permafrost layer is a little deeper.Winds in these places, too, are not as severe.Here you can find trees such as larch and birch.But these plants tundra are very pathetic, their height is no more than 6 meters.
And in the summer in the tundra very briefly bloom different colors, such as forget-me-polar poppies, bluebells, dandelions, buttercups, saxifrage and others.Plants that grow here, mostly evergreen and perennial.They no longer need each year lose valuable time on growth and development, as well as forcing the foliage.But they grow slowly, picking up a few millimeters per year.It is also closer to the fall here ripen various berries such as cloudberry, raspberry, cranberries, cranberries and blueberries.
