Cold climate Factfile The cold climate zone lies between the coniferous forests and the poles.

. It includes the Arctic and Antarctic as well as parts of Russia and Alaska. There are few summer months. The mean temperature for the year is below 0C and temperatures will not get higher than 10C. The ground may remain frozen all year round. Precipitation is fairly low, but balanced throughout the year.

The Taiga

This biome is found between 50 and 60 north of the equator and is characterised by evergreen coniferous trees with needles instead of leaves. It is also known as Taiga. Typical trees include spruce, pine and fir. Animals commonly found in the region are reindeer, voles and hares. At the most northern extent, summer temperatures rarely rise above 10C. As you move further north, trees are shorter and less dense because of the shorter growing season. Winter temperatures can fall as low as -30C. Soils are shallow due to lack of decomposition and weathering caused by the cold. They are acidic due to leaching from rainfall and they are also poor in nutrients. The litter layer is thick with needles due to slow decomposition. Therefore, the humus layer is thin. Trees have shallow roots. Coniferous trees have thick bark to protect against the cold. They are coneshaped, with flexible branches which help them to cope with heavy snow fall. Pine cones protect the seeds during the harsh winter. The thin waxy needles reduce water loss.

The Tundra

Tundra biomes are cold and treeless with very little precipitation. The landscape is quite bare with vegetation specially adapted to the low temperatures. Tundra areas include Northern parts of Canada, Russia and Alaska. The temperatures stay below 0C most of the year. The ground remains frozen, apart from a few centimetres of thaw in the summer. The precipitation is gentle, mainly falling as snow. The winds can be very strong. Summers may have many hours of continuous daylight. Winters are long, dark periods. The climatic conditions mean that the landscape is quite bare, with little vegetation. Vegetation needs to be able to tolerate cold. Very few species are able to do this. Plants are low growing, compact and rounded in order to help protect from the wind. The frozen ground means soils are waterlogged. The snow covers the vegetation in winter which helps insulate it. The narrow leaves helping to reduce transpiration. The vegetation has adapted to a short growing season (so has a short life cycle). Also, dense flower heads reduce heat loss. Finally, darker leaves help absorb energy from Sun