The word "tundra" in Finnish means treeless bare hill. And in fact, it occupies vast territories of the Northern Hemisphere in subarctic latitudes, where mossy and lichen vegetation predominates in a rather harsh climate. Spaces are distinguished by the absence of tall trees, although the tundra and forest-tundra border on luxurious taiga forests. Only perennial grasses and small bushes cover the cold earth during periods of short summers.
Due to the high relative humidity and low volatility, the effect of bogging of the earth occurs in these harsh places. But what prevents water from seeping into tundra soil?
Climate
The tundra zone stretches in a narrow strip across the north of Eurasia and North America, with the largest areas being in Russia and Canada. The climate is subarctic and subantarctic. With strong winds and air temperatures in winter up to -30 ° C, and in summer barely reaching + 5 + 10 ° Celsius, even conifers do not grow here.
Long snowy winters and only 2-3 relatively warm months of the year contribute to the fact that the tundra suffers from an excess of moisture. The low temperature regime does not allow it to evaporate, swamping vast territories. Winter for the tundra is a polar night, and in summer the sun shines for almost whole days. Spring and autumn with the manifestation of all their signs fit into a single month - May and September, respectively. They are characterized by the rapid descent of low snow cover and its equally rapid return in early October.
Characteristic features of tundra soil
Features of the harsh subarctic and subantarctic climate, as well as the soil - this is what prevents water from seeping into tundra soil. Thaws are enough only for thawing only the upper layers of the earth to a shallow depth. Permafrost turns the tundra soil into icy boulders, and this state does not change.
In winter, a lot of snow falls in these parts, but it lays on the desert plains with a thin layer, since most of the strong winds blow off.
Gley and rocky soils have a characteristic rusty and gray color. Layers of the soil cover of the tundra either thaw or freeze, gradually mixing with each other. Thus, humus, humus and peat fall to a meter depth. With an abundance of moisture, clay and loamy soils become swampy. On flat plains, the earth literally bends under the weight of a person, trying to suck him into a thick bog. However, the peat layer does not exceed 50 centimeters due to the scarce cover of herbaceous plants and moss. In the sandy dehydrated areas, the soil layer is podzols and tricks.
