Tundra

Introduction
Distribution
Environmental conditions
- Climate
- Soils
The biota and its adaptations
- Plant life
- Animal life
  - Mammals
    - Arctic mammals
    - Alpine mammals
  - Birds
  - Insects
- Use of sunlight and carbon dioxide
- Biological productivity
Effects of human activities and climate change

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Rolling tundra in Alaska with red, yellow, and green fall foliage, set against rugged mountains with patches of grass and exposed rock.

Diagram comparing open-system and closed-system pingos, showing cross-sections of dome-shaped hills formed in permafrost. The left side illustrates open-system pingo formation with artesian pressure pushing water upward beneath discontinuous permafrost, forming an ice lens and raising the ground. The right side shows closed-system pingo formation, where advancing permafrost traps water from a residual lake, creating hydrostatic pressure that forms an ice lens and lifts the surface. Both processe

At a Glance

tundra summary

Quizzes

Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.

Ecosystems

Related Questions

How can a longer growing season partly offset carbon emissions from tundra fires and thawing permafrost?
How can thinning of the ozone layer harm plants and animals in polar regions?
How can tundra plants produce flowers and seeds during a short summer?
How could tundra warming create a positive climate feedback loop?
How deep can permafrost extend beneath Arctic tundra?
How do bacteria and fungi support tundra ecosystems?
How do cushion plants survive on windswept tundra ridges?
How do hairy flower stalks help cottongrass and willows grow in the tundra?
How do lemmings affect tundra plant growth and soil nutrients?
How do mosses and lichens survive in tundra habitats?
How do northward-moving trees reduce the area of Arctic tundra?
How do oil drilling and hunting threaten tundra wildlife?
How do reindeer and caribou find food beneath snow?
How do rock circles and soil polygons form in tundra regions?
How do snow geese change tundra vegetation and soil thawing?
How does a decrease in sea ice contribute to warming in tundra regions?
How does a musk ox survive the cold Arctic climate?
How does freeze-thaw activity shape tundra landscapes?
How does permafrost affect drainage in Arctic tundra soils?
How does snow cover affect the growth of tundra plants?
How does snow influence where tundra animals find food in winter?
How long does the growing season last in Arctic tundra regions?
How much precipitation does the tundra receive each year?
What causes solifluction on tundra slopes?
What happens in the active layer of tundra soil each summer?
Where are Arctic tundra ecosystems found around the world?
Where does alpine tundra occur on mountains?
Which plants are common in Arctic tundra ecosystems?
Why are food webs in tundra ecosystems relatively simple?
Why are trees unable to grow in tundra ecosystems?
Why are tundra ecosystems especially sensitive to global warming?
Why are tundra flowers often colourful and large compared with the plants that produce them?
Why can more tundra fires reduce caribou habitat?
Why can tundra animal populations change quickly after extreme weather?
Why can tundra landscapes be wet even though they receive little precipitation?
Why can windswept tundra areas experience drought during summer?
Why do Arctic foxes, Arctic hares, and ptarmigans have white winter coats?
Why do many bird species migrate to the tundra during summer?
Why do many tundra plants reproduce through runners or underground stems?
Why do tundra plants often grow close to the ground?
Why do wetlands form on the coastal plains of the Arctic tundra?
Why is much of the tundra’s plant biomass found below ground?
What is a forest?

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External Websites

University of California - eScholarship - Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome
Alaska Department of Fish And Game - Tundra
University of California - Museum of Paleontology - The tundra biome
National Geographic - Tundras Explained
World Animal Foundation - Tundra
National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Tundra Vegetation Community Type, Not Microclimate, Controls Asynchrony of Above‐ and Below‐Ground Phenology
NASA Earth Observatory - Tundra

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

tundra - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
tundra - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Tundra

ecosystem

Written by

Feng Sheng Hu

Professor of Biology, Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois.

Feng Sheng HuAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 12, 2026 •History

Tundra, a major zone of treeless level or rolling ground found in cold regions, mostly north of the Arctic Circle (Arctic tundra) or above the timberline on high mountains (alpine tundra). Tundra is known for large stretches of bare ground and rock and for patchy mantles of low vegetation such as mosses, lichens, herbs, and small shrubs. This surface supports a meagre but unique variety of animals. The Finns called their treeless northern reaches the...

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