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The tundra is the simplest biome in terms of species composition and food chains, which may have only formed within the last 10,000 years. The word "tundra" comes from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning "treeless plain".
Types
Types
Arctic tundra: a cold, windy, and treeless biome located in the northern hemisphere, encircling the north pole and extending south across parts of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia, to the coniferous forests of the taiga
Alpine tundra: a type of biome characterized by high elevation and a harsh climate, which prevents the growth of trees
Antarctic tundra: there are areas along the coast of Antarctica that represent tundra with vegetation, but most of the interior of the land is cold desert
Climate
Climate
6 to 10 week growing season; long, cold, dark winters
Rainfall
Rainfall
On average, 15 to 25 cm/yr, but some may get more precipitation
Temperature
Temperature
Extremely cold climate
Average annual is below 0°C
Average winter temperature is -34° C (-30° F)
Average summer temperature is 3-12° C (37-54° F)
Soil
Soil
No true soil; permanently frozen subsoil, permafrost, consisting of gravel and finer material
Limitation of drainage
Flora
Flora
Low biotic diversity
Antarctica consists of 2 angiosperm spp.; ~100 spp of mosses; ~30 spp of liverwort
Antarctic hair grass (Deschamsia antarctica) and Antarctic pearlwort (Colobanthus quitensis) are the only native plant species found on the continent.
Short season of growth and reproduction
Ground-hugging forms; mats/cushions; rosettes
Regional Expressions
Regional Expressions
High latitudes of the northern hemisphere in a belt around the Arctic Ocean
Evolution of the biome
Evolution of the biome
The tundra, a biome that is cold and low in productivity may have only formed within the last 5 million years
During much of the Mesozoic, the Earth was warmer, even at and above Arctic Circle, therefore conditions didn't exist to create tundra
It is possible that a cold and low productive environment dominated by bryophytes and lichens may have existed in previous geological times
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
Recent tundra fires exceed anything in past 3,000 years (Phys.org 18Dec2025)
└Fire activity in the northern Arctic tundra now exceeds late Holocene levels, driven by increasing dryness and shrub expansion (Feurdean et al., 2025)
Temperatures in a patch of Antarctic moss can vary as much as an entire mountain range (Phys.org 2Dec2025)
└Centimetre-Scale Micro-Topography Structures Biologically Relevant Microclimates in Antarctic Moss Beds (Randall et al., 2025)
Forest plants increasingly colonize Arctic tundra, altering ecosystems and permafrost (Phys.org 22Sep2025)
└Criado et al. (2025) Borealisation of Plant Communities in the Arctic Is Driven by Boreal-Tundra Species
Kilimanjaro's giant groundsels: The strange plants that thrive on Africa's tallest mountain (LiveScience 30May2025)
Hidden Life Flourishes in Antarctica’s Harshest Soils Through Unlikely Partnerships (ScienceBlog 21May2025)
└Amen et al. (2025) From single pioneers to complex pro- and eukaryotic microbial networks in soils along a glacier forefield chronosequence in continental Antarctica
Alpine plant decline linked to smaller rhizomes and shorter fine roots (19May2025)
└Kobayashi et al (2025) Belowground traits significantly differ between decreasing and increasing plant species in alpine meadows: implications for vegetation response to climate change
Antartica is warming, and plants are quickly encroaching along the coast (SFGate 30Dec2024)
Greenland fossil discovery stuns scientists and confirms that center of ice sheet melted in recent past (Phys.org 5Aug2024)
└Bierman et al. (2024) Plant, insect, and fungi fossils under the center of Greenland’s ice sheet are evidence of ice-free times
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes (YaleEnvironment 360, 20Feb2024)
The Flora of Antarctica: Life on a Frozen Continent (In Defense of Plants, Nov 2019)
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