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Salix herbacea, the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments around the North Atlantic Ocean , it is one of the smallest woody plants .
The Arctic willow is a food source for several Arctic animals. Muskoxen, caribou, Arctic hares, and lemmings all feed on the bark and twigs, while the buds are the main food source of the rock ptarmigan. It is the primary host plant and food source for the Arctic woolly bear moth (Gynaephora groenlandica). [10]
Salix polaris, the polar willow, is a species of willow with a circumpolar distribution in the high arctic tundra, extending north to the limits of land, and south of the Arctic in the mountains of Norway, the northern Ural Mountains, the northern Altay Mountains, Kamchatka, and British Columbia, Canada. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Salix herbacea L. [1] – snowbed willow; Salix polaris Wahlenb. – polar willow; Salix reticulata L. Saxifraga aizoides L. – yellow mountain saxifrage; Saxifraga cernua L. – drooping saxifrage; Saxifraga cespitosa L. – tufted saxifrage; Saxifraga hirculus L. – bog saxifrage; Saxifraga hyperborea R.Br. Saxifraga oppositifolia L ...
The Arctic hare [2] (Lepus arcticus) is a species of hare highly adapted to living in the Arctic tundra and other icy biomes. The Arctic hare survives with shortened ears and limbs, a small nose, fat that makes up close to 20% of its body, and a thick coat of fur. It usually digs holes in the ground or under the snow to keep warm and to sleep.
At lower altitude is low alpine tundra with continuous plant cover; dwarf birch and willows up to 1 m tall and grasslands, as well as numerous lakes and bogs. At still lower altitude is the adjacent montane birch zone with mountain downy birch ( Betula pubescens ); some stunted spruce and pine , and many lakes and bogs.
Tundra soil can be anywhere from 10 to 40 inches deep (25 to 100 cm)! The antlers of reindeer are used to scrape away snow and burrow through the soil in search of food.
In the Southern Arctic tundra, shrubs are more regular, consisting of dwarf birch, Arctic willow, northern Labrador tea, Dryas spp., and Vaccinium ssp. In waterlogged areas, moss, willow and sedge cover is substantial. [22] Invasive species, such as the Kentucky blue grass, orchids, Red fescue and flax proved to be unsuccessful.