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Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets lower until it reaches sea level, and alpine tundra merges with polar tundra .
Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. [1] These include perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. [2]
Páramo in Colombia. Páramo (Spanish pronunciation:) may refer to a variety of alpine tundra ecosystems located in the Andes Mountain Range, South America. Some ecologists describe the páramo broadly as "all high, tropical, montane vegetation above the continuous timberline". [1]
Alpine flora near Cascade Pass. Alpine grasslands and tundra lie above the tree line, in a world of intense radiation, wind, cold, snow, and ice. As a consequence, alpine vegetation is close to the ground and consists mainly of perennial grasses, sedges, and forbs.
Alpine tundra is generally better drained than arctic soils. [7] Alpine tundra transitions to subalpine forests below the tree line; stunted forests occurring at the forest-tundra ecotone (the treeline) are known as Krummholz. Alpine tundra can be affected by woody plant encroachment. [27] Alpine tundra occurs in mountains worldwide.
North Tibetan Plateau–Kunlun Mountains alpine desert: China: Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows: China, India, Pakistan: Ordos Plateau steppe: China: Pamir alpine desert and tundra: Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan: Qilian Mountains subalpine meadows: China: Sayan alpine meadows and tundra: Mongolia, Russia: Southeast ...
Animal species that are endangered in the tundra include the Arctic fox, caribou, and polar bears. These animals have been endangered due to overhunting, an infestation of disease, loss of diet and habitat due to climate change, and human destructive activities, such as searches for natural gas and oil, mining, and road building. [ 10 ]
Unlike alpine tree lines, the northern tree line occurs at low elevations. The arctic forest–tundra transition zone in northwestern Canada varies in width, perhaps averaging 145 kilometres (90 mi) and widening markedly from west to east, [23] in contrast with the telescoped alpine timberlines. [17]