polar ecosystem

polar ecosystem

Introduction

      complex of living organisms in polar regions such as polar barrens and tundra.

 Polar barrens and tundra are found at high latitudes on land surfaces not covered by perpetual ice and snow. These areas lying beyond the tree line comprise more than 10 percent of the Earth's land surface. Most are in the Arctic and subarctic, as little land area in the Antarctic (Antarctica) is ever free of snow and ice (seefigure—>). The Arctic can be divided into the Low Arctic and High Arctic, according to various environmental and biological characteristics. Tundras are most common in the Low Arctic, and polar barrens are dominant in the High Arctic.

      The Russian term “tundra” is derived from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless heights. Tundra is now used in a general sense to describe any cold-climate landscape having vegetation without trees, which includes both mountainous areas (alpine tundra) and areas in the Arctic, subarctic, and Antarctic. In a more restricted sense, tundra denotes a special type of vegetation association. The tundra zones of the polar regions are distinct from the polar barrens, which are sparsely vegetated. (For more information on Arctic and Antarctic lands see the articles Arctic and Antarctica.)

Origin of the flora and fauna of the polar regions

The Arctic and subarctic regions
      Compared with other biomes, the tundra biome is relatively young, having its origin in the Pleistocene (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). Individual plant and animal species of the tundra, however, probably first appeared in the Late Miocene (11.2 to 5.3 million years ago) or Early Pliocene (5.3 to 3.4 million years ago). Coniferous forests were present on Ellesmere Island and in northern Greenland, the northernmost land areas, in the mid-Pliocene (2.5 million years ago). Most paleoecologists believe that tundra flora evolved from plants of the coniferous forests and alpine areas as continents drifted into higher and cooler latitudes during the Miocene (23.7 to 5.3 million years ago).

The Antarctic region
      Antarctica has been isolated from other continental landmasses by broad expanses of ocean since early in the Tertiary Period, about 60 to 40 million years ago. Prior to its separation it existed, along with Australia, South America, peninsular India, and Africa, as part of the landmass known as Gondwanaland. This long separation has impeded the establishment and development of land-based flora and fauna in the Antarctic. Other significant factors that have hampered terrestrial biotic evolution are the harsh climate, the ice cover that completely engulfed the continent during the Pleistocene glaciations, and the present limited number of ice-free land areas, which are restricted primarily to the coastal fringes and nunataks (mountain peaks surrounded by the ice cap). As a consequence, the terrestrial flora and fauna of Antarctica are few. The Antarctic Peninsula, which extends to 63° S, is the location of virtually all floral development of the Antarctic.

      The Antarctic, however, encompasses not only the continent itself but also those islands lying within the Antarctic Convergence, where northward-flowing cold surface waters meet warmer subantarctic waters. Most Antarctic islands, because of their position beyond the seasonal pack ice, are under much stronger maritime influence than comparable Arctic islands. The flora and fauna of these islands are poorly developed, largely because of their isolation from potential sources of terrestrial biota. South Georgia, the largest of these islands, lies 2,000 kilometres (1,240 miles) east of Tierra del Fuego at 54° to 55° S and encompasses an area of 3,756 square kilometres (1,450 square miles). Heavy precipitation and high mountains account for perennial snow cover at higher elevations and extensive glaciers (glacier). Nevertheless, near sea level where soil formation has been possible, a unique Antarctic tundra vegetation has developed, dominated by tussock-forming grasses and mosses. Only 26 species of vascular plants are present, and there are no native land mammals, although reindeer introduced by Norwegian whalers in the early 1900s have established feral populations. Grazing by reindeer has altered plant communities by reduction or local elimination of the most preferred species.

Polar environments
      Characteristics of polar environments—the climate, substrates, elevation above sea level, slope, exposure, and proximity to other landmasses—determine the complex of plant and animal life present in the polar regions. It is the interplay of these factors during summer that determines whether temperatures are warm enough and moisture is sufficient to allow plants to grow. The High Arctic is distinguished from the Low Arctic based on ecological criteria, which include a shorter growing season, cooler summers, and a marked reduction in species of flora and fauna.

      The southern limit of the tundra zone in the Northern Hemisphere may extend from 55° N at the southern tip of Hudson Bay in Canada along the northern Bering Sea coast of Alaska and the Russian (Russia) Far East to above 70° N on the lower Mackenzie River of Canada, along the Khatanga River of central Siberia, and across northern Scandinavia. This limit generally coincides with the isoline of annual net solar radiation of 75 to 80 kilojoules per square centimetre, which closely parallels the 10° C (50° F) July isotherm. However, local variation in this boundary occurs in North America and Eurasia where influences of mountain ranges or warm ocean currents allow forests to penetrate northward to areas with as little as 67 kilojoules per square centimetre of radiation.

      Daily summer temperatures may average only 2° to 5° C (35° to 41° F) in typical tundra and polar barrens, and the plant growth season is usually less than 100 days. Although summers are brief at high latitudes, the days of summer are long. At latitudes above the Arctic Circle (66°33′ N) for at least a portion of the summer the Sun is above the horizon for 24 hours each day. This constant sunlight enables plants to optimize photosynthesis without the usual nighttime cost of respiration.

      Total annual precipitation is low in the tundra and polar barrens, generally ranging between 100 and 1,000 millimetres (4 to 40 inches) per year. Precipitation is usually greatest near the coasts and at high altitudes. For example, in Greenland and Antarctica and at higher elevations on the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, permanent ice caps form. The low precipitation characteristic of tundra regions is comparable to that of deserts at lower latitudes; however, these regions are unlike true deserts in that the low temperatures in both winter and summer limit evaporation. Thus, a greater portion of the limited moisture from snowmelt and summer rains is available for plant growth. In addition, most tundra and polar barrens are underlain by soils that are permanently frozen ( permafrost) except for a thin surface zone (active layer) that thaws each summer. The permafrost limits drainage and retains moisture for plant growth within the active layer. This can result in wetland formation, as occurs in level areas of the coastal plains of the Arctic, which contain extensive wetlands that are home to aquatic vegetation, invertebrate fauna, waterfowl, and shorebirds.

      Circulation of air masses around the Earth transports industrial pollutants from temperate regions into the Arctic and Antarctic. Pollutants are becoming concentrated in these regions, and concern is growing over the possible consequences for life at high latitudes. Thinning of the ozone layer in the polar regions resulting from the industrial release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere may have long-term consequences for plant and animal life. ultraviolet radiation, previously intercepted by the ozone layer, is detrimental to most life because it inhibits photosynthesis and increases mutation rates in DNA and damages epidermal tissues in plants and animals.

Biota of tundra and polar barrens

Biota of the Arctic
      A transition zone exists at the northern limit of trees where coniferous forest interdigitates with treeless tundra vegetation. In North America, white and black spruce (Picea glauca and P. mariana) interface with tundra, whereas in Siberia and northern Europe larch (Larix) is the primary tree line species. Cottonwoods (Populus species) often penetrate the tundra landscape in the Low Arctic along major rivers. Major vegetation types of the Low Arctic include low-shrub tundra, dominated by species of willow (Salix) and dwarf birch (Betula); tall-shrub tundra, dominated by species of willow, shrub birch, and alder (Alnus); and combinations of sedges and dwarf shrubs, such as species of Labrador tea (Ledum), blueberry and cranberry (Vaccinium), crowberry (Empetrum), and Arctic heather (Cassiope), in wetter sites. Cushion plants (Dryas and Saxifraga species) are common on windswept uplands. Lichens and mosses are important components of the ground cover in some areas. In the Low Arctic, most land surfaces are fully vegetated, with the exception of rock outcrops, dry ridge tops, river gravel bars, and scree slopes (those slopes that have an accumulation of rocky debris at the angle of repose).

      The vegetation of the High Arctic is less rich than that of the Low Arctic, containing only about half the vascular plant species found in the Low Arctic. For example, more than 600 species of plants are found in the Low Arctic of North America, but in the extreme High Arctic of northern Ellesmere Island and Greenland—north of 83° N—fewer than 100 species of vascular plants grow. The shorter growing season, cooler summers, and drier conditions, as well as the distance of these landmasses from continental flora, account for this difference. More than 40 percent of vascular plant species of the Arctic are circumpolar in distribution. Mosses increase in importance in High Arctic plant communities, and shrub species decrease markedly, with only a few prostrate willows, dwarf birch, and other dwarf shrubs remaining. Prostrate willows, however, remain important components of plant communities that retain some winter snow cover, even in the northernmost land areas. Sedge-moss meadows occur on limited wet sites in valley bottoms watered by melting snows. Upland sites are drier and have a more sparse ground cover that merges into polar desert at higher elevations or where insufficient moisture is available for plant growth. Grasses, occasional prostrate willows, and mat-forming dryas occur in patches in the uplands and are the dominant vegetation in the polar barrens.

      The true polar desert generally occurs on coastal areas fringing the Arctic Ocean and on areas of a few hundred metres elevation in the extreme High Arctic where soils have not developed and the frost-free period and soil moisture are insufficient for most plant growth. The occasional plants growing there often become established in frost cracks that capture blowing snow and finer windblown soil material. Plants adapted to these conditions include species of the Arctic poppy (Papaver), some rushes (Juncus), small saxifrages (Saxifraga), and a few other rosette-forming herbaceous species. The Arctic poppy and a few of the other flowering herbs adapted to the High Arctic have flowers that are solartropic (turning in response to the Sun). Their parabolic-shaped blossoms track daily movements of the Sun, thereby concentrating solar heat on the developing ovary, warming pollinating insects that land there, and speeding the growth of embryonic seeds.

      Arctic ecosystems lack the diversity and richness of species that characterize temperate and tropical ecosystems. Animal as well as plant species decline in number with increasing latitude in both polar regions. Vertebrate species of the Arctic tundra and polar barrens are limited to mammals (mammal) and birds; no amphibians or reptiles occur there. About 20 species of mammals and more than 100 species of birds are present throughout the Arctic. Most are circumpolar in their distribution as single species or closely related species; for example, the caribou of North America and the domestic and wild reindeer of Eurasia belong to the same species, Rangifer tarandus (reindeer), whereas the lemmings (lemming) of the Eurasian Arctic are a closely related but distinct species from those of northern North America and Greenland. This similarity in Arctic mammalian fauna is a result of the lower sea levels of the Pleistocene glaciations, when a broad land connection, known as the Bering Land Bridge, connected present-day Alaska and Siberia.

    Some Arctic mammalian fauna—primarily herbivores such as caribou and reindeer, muskox (Ovibos moschatus; see photograph—>), and Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus; see photograph—>), and species of Arctic hare (Lepus) and collared and brown lemmings (Dicrostonyx and Lemmus)—rarely occur outside the Arctic and are adapted to life in this environment. Other fauna such as species of ground squirrel (Spermophilus), vole (Microtus), shrew (family Soricidae), and red fox (Vulpes), as well as ermine (Mustela erminea), wolverine (Gulo gulo; see photograph—>), wolf (Canis lupus), and brown bear (Ursus arctos; see photograph—>) are common to other ecosystems but are distributed widely throughout the Arctic. A few other typical temperate species have penetrated northward into the Low Arctic where suitable habitat is available. The moose (Alces alces) and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) in North America are examples, and their movement into the Low Arctic may be a consequence of a warming climate and an increase of willows and other shrubs, especially in riparian habitats. Where mountain ranges in boreal forest regions continue into the Arctic—as they do in northwestern North America and Siberia—species of mountain sheep (Ovis) and marmots (Marmota), typical of the alpine zone, have extended their distribution into the Arctic.

 On land areas of the extreme High Arctic, above 80° N, which include only parts of Axel Heiberg and Ellesmere islands in the Canadian Arctic, northernmost Greenland, northern portions of Svalbard, and Franz Josef Land, only a few mammal species are able to maintain viable populations. In the Canadian High Arctic the musk ox, Peary caribou, Arctic hare, and collared lemming are the only mammalian herbivores, and their predators, the wolf, Arctic fox, wolverine, and ermine, are also present. In northern Greenland these same species are found, with caribou and possibly the wolverine being absent in historical times. Only caribou and the Arctic fox are native to Svalbard, and only the Arctic fox is present on Franz Josef Land. In all these High Arctic areas the polar bear (Ursus maritimus; see photograph—>), a creature of the sea ice that preys largely on seals, may occasionally be found on land, where females den to bear young or where they graze (rarely) the vegetation or prey on land mammals or nesting birds (bird).

      Terrestrial avian fauna of the Arctic includes only a few resident species, among them the ptarmigan (Lagopus species), snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), and raven (Corvus corax); the remainingspecies are present in the Arctic only in summer to breed and rear young, migrating to temperate, tropical, or maritime areas of more southern latitudes during winter. Although the ability to fly has allowed birds to occupy isolated and insular habitats within the Arctic that have been largely inaccessible to mammals, their distribution throughout the Arctic has been tied closely to the location of their wintering areas and annual migration routes. These migration routes, especially those of shorebirds and waterfowl, often follow the coastlines of continents; however, some species cross extensive bodies of water. Nevertheless, the North Atlantic Ocean offers a partial barrier to the circumpolar mixing of species, and thus there is greater similarity between the avian fauna of the Arctic of western North America and eastern Eurasia than there is among the species of the Arctic areas of Europe, eastern North America, and Greenland.

      Shorebirds, waterfowl, and passerine species of the family Fringillidae (finches, buntings, and sparrows) are the most abundant species nesting in the Arctic. Wet sedge meadows often associated with lake margins, estuaries, and seacoasts are favoured nesting habitats of shorebirds and waterfowl. Nesting densities of passerine species are highest in shrub communities at the southern margins of the tundra and in riparian habitats; they decline rapidly in the High Arctic. Only the redpoll (Acanthis species) and snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) among this group extend their range to the northernmost land areas.

  In addition to resident species, raptorial birds that commonly nest in the Arctic include the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus; see photograph—>), rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), short-eared owl (Asio flammeus), and, in mountainous terrain, the golden eagle (Aguila chrysaetos; see photograph—>) in North America and the white-tailed eagle (Italiacetus albicilla) in Greenland and Eurasia. The jaegers (jaeger) (Stercorarius species), which spend the major part of their lives at sea during most of the year, nest in tundra and polar barrens and prey on lemmings and eggs and nestlings of other birds during the breeding season. Marine birds of the Procellariidae (fulmars), Laridae (gulls and terns), and Alcidae (puffins, murres, dovkies, and auklets) that are dependent on a marine food base often nest colonially on coastal cliffs in the Arctic. These nesting colonies are usually found adjacent to upwelling currents in the sea where invertebrates and fish that the birds feed on are most abundant. In the High Arctic, upwelling currents result in open water areas within the pack ice called polynya; these enable seabirds to feed and nest at latitudes above 75° N.

Biota of Antarctica
      The flora of Antarctica consists mainly of soil and freshwater algae, lichens, mosses, fungi, and only two native species of vascular plants. The terrestrial fauna consists of a few invertebrate species of protozoans, rotifers, nematodes, tardigrades, collembola (primitive wingless insects), and a species of mite. These life-forms are restricted mainly to moist beds of moss. The diversity of marine mammals and birds in the coastal areas and associated pack ice is dependent on marine food chains in the adjacent seas.

      In Antarctica unique endolithic (stone-dwelling) forms of life (cyanobacteria) occur within and just below the surface of porous rocks. These cyanobacteria can be found in dry valleys of southern Victoria Land, where they are adapted to remain dormant for extended periods until rare occasions when melting snow provides the moisture necessary for life processes. Although this is an extreme cold-desert environment, similar forms of life occur within rocks in hot deserts. (For information on the biota of the Antarctic islands see above Origin of the flora and fauna of the polar regions: The Antarctic region.)

Development and structure of populations and communities (community)
      The low species diversity of both plants and animals in polar regions contributes to the lack of complexity that characterizes Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems. The short summer season during which plants can grow and insects and other invertebrates can be active contributes to the lower productivity and relative simplicity of these ecosystems. In addition, the cooler temperatures limit the rate at which soil nutrients essential for plant growth are released through decomposition of organic material, breakdown of the parent rock, and fixation of nitrogen by soil microbes.

      A consequence of ecosystem simplicity is a lack of stability. Animals tend to undergo wide population fluctuations in the tundra and polar barrens. These fluctuations are stimulated by periodic extremes of weather and imbalances in herbivore-plant and predator-prey relationships. Each species plays a much more dominant role in the trophic dynamics of ecosystems in the Arctic than do species in the highly complex temperate and tropical ecosystems. The extreme abundance of lemmings (lemming) during the peak of their population cycle (as many as 200 per hectare) is accompanied by high reproductive success and rapid increase of their predators—Arctic foxes, ermines, snowy owls, and other species. Conversely, when lemming numbers are low (fewer than 1 per hectare) breeding among their predators ceases and predator populations plummet.

      In the High Arctic, animal populations live close to their biological limitations. Peary caribou (reindeer) or musk oxen may be so affected by periods of extreme weather that they become locally extinct. Reestablishment of the species may not occur until favourable conditions allow adjacent populations to build up, an event that may take decades. Indeed, in northernmost Greenland, although caribou have not been present in recent history, antlers and bones indicate their periodic presence at least 7,000 years ago.

       snow plays an important role in determining the characteristics and distribution of plant and animal communities in tundra and polar barrens. Winters are long, and the limited snow that falls usually accumulates without melting throughout the entire season. The snow cover, however, is not stable. The strong winds that characterize these treeless landscapes redistribute the snow, removing it from landscape convexities and depositing it as drifts in concavities, in patches of shrubs, or leeward of ridge tops and boulders. The wind also compacts snow, increasing its density, thus enabling animals to move more easily over its surface while hampering their ability to dig through to find food below. Snow, therefore, influences the location, food selection, and energy expenditure of large herbivores that must move across the winter landscape to feed. Areas of deeper snow cover appeal to small rodents who feed and construct winter nests at the ground's surface under the insulating layer of snow.

      The pattern of distribution of snow on the tundra and polar barrens is also a major determinant in the distribution of vegetation. Most plants require snow cover to protect them from the extreme cold and drying conditions of winter. Areas in which the snow cover has been blown away are the first to initiate plant growth in summer, whereas those in which snowbanks are slow to melt support only those plants adapted to the shorter snow-free season. The winter accumulation of snow, however, is often the primary source of moisture for the summer growth of plants. Consequently, windy exposures with little snow cover often suffer summer drought that limits plant growth, whereas snow-bed plant communities are well watered throughout summer.

Biological productivity
      In the Low Arctic, vegetation covers 80 to 100 percent of the land area. The rapid growth of vascular plants under the continuous daylight of the brief Arctic summer is the basis for the relatively high productivity of these plant communities at such high altitudes. Because all aboveground productivity of plants is close to ground level in the tundra in contrast to forest biomes, it is readily available to vertebrate herbivores. As a consequence large concentrations of caribou and geese (goose) graze locally in the Low Arctic in summer but migrate out of the Arctic to winter when the quality of forage declines and its availability is limited by the wind-packed snow cover. Although tundra systems experience a burst of plant and animal productivity during the brief Arctic summer, only a few animal species remain active in the Arctic throughout the long winter. Herbivores are dependent on plant production of the previous summer, and carnivores depend on their herbivore prey. Total annual productivity in the tundra and polar barrens is several orders of magnitude less than it is in most temperate or tropical ecosystems. (For further information on productivity see biosphere: The organism and the environment: Resources of the biosphere: The flow of energy (biosphere).)

      Vertebrate herbivory may result in changes in tundra vegetation through selective feeding on preferred plant species, trampling, and recycling of soil nutrients through excretion. Where caribou, musk oxen, lemmings, and geese concentrate their grazing activity they may actually increase production of tundra vegetation. This results from removal of much of the annual vegetative growth, exposing the underlying new growth of plants to the rays of the sun and the soil to increased heating, and from speeding up the recycling of organic material through digestion and excretion that releases nutrients to the soil.

David R. Klein

Additional Reading
Peter J. Marchand, Life in the Cold: An Introduction to Winter Ecology, 2nd ed. (1991), describes the adaptations of plants and animals to the physical constraints of temperature, snow, and wind in high-latitude environments. Sanford Moss, Natural History of the Antarctic Peninsula (1988), an illustrated text, provides general descriptions of the life-forms of the Antarctic Peninsula in relation to the climate and adjacent marine system. G.E. Fogg, A History of Antarctic Science (1992), comprehensively reviews research done in Antarctica. Jack D. Ives and Roger G. Barry (eds.), Arctic and Alpine Environments (1974), looks at these ecosystems, their physical components, adaptations of life-forms present (including humans and their prehistorical and historical presence), and the impact of technology on these environments. Antarctic Bibliography (annual); and Arctic Bibliography, 16 vol. (1953–75), are useful reference works for publications on these regions.E. Imre Friedmann and Roseli Ocampo, “Endolithic Blue-Green Algae in the Dry Valleys: Primary Producers in the Antarctic Desert Ecosystem,” Science, 193(4259):1247–1249 (Sept. 24, 1976), details the unique forms of life found within rocks in Antarctica. Larry L. Tieszen (ed.), Vegetation and Production Ecology of an Alaskan Arctic Tundra (1978), focuses on the vegetation and its primary production in a wet tundra ecosystem. George O. Batzli (ed.), Patterns of Vegetation and Herbivory in Arctic Tundra (1980), describes the vegetation as well as the role of herbivores in the ecology of the tundra.George A. Llano (ed.), Adaptations Within Antarctic Ecosystems (1977), symposium proceedings, looks at the adaptation of organisms in both marine and terrestrial ecosystems. N. Leader-Williams, Reindeer on South Georgia: The Ecology of an Introduced Population (1988), discusses the effects of introducing mammals to the southern islands. L.C. Bliss (ed.), Truelove Lowland, Devon Island, Canada: A High Arctic Ecosystem (1977), focuses on ecosystem components. Yu.I. Chernov (IU.I. Chernov), The Living Tundra (1985; originally published in Russian, 1980), is a classic description of tundra landscapes, ecosystems, and plant and animal components. Jerry Brown et al. (eds.), An Arctic Ecosystem: The Coastal Tundra at Barrow, Alaska (1980), compiles research findings on ecosystem components of the Arctic tundra. L.C. Bliss, O.W. Heal, and J.J. Moore (eds.), Tundra Ecosystems: A Comparative Analysis (1981), is an excellent comprehensive synthesis on circumpolar and tundra systems. F. Stuart Chapin III et al. (eds.), Arctic Ecosystems in a Changing Climate: An Ecophysiological Perspective (1992), describes the physiological processes of plants and animals in this region and also discusses the consequences of global climate change on these processes.David R. Klein

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