In the north of Russia, from Chukotka to the Kola Peninsula, the tundra zone extends. It runs a continuous lane and occupies no less than 14% of Russian territory. In this zone, very harsh climatic conditions. Winter lasts up to 8 months, and the remaining time falls on cool and short summers. And in July (the hottest month) the average temperature is only +10 degrees. Here, no one is surprised by frost or snow falling in the middle of summer. And in these harsh conditions, plants and animals of the tundra manage to survive.
Permafrost is widespread throughout almost the vast territory of the tundra. And the soil in these places thaws only in the summer, and then to a shallow depth - 1.5–2 meters maximum, and often even less. And below this depth is constantly frozen soil. And this permafrost has a strong effect on plants in the tundra. Moreover, this influence is by no means positive. Indeed, such a close occurrence of ice-bound soil does not allow the roots to grow deeper. They are forced to be content only with the topsoil. Permafrost also prevents moisture from seeping down. And this contributes to the occurrence of swamps.
Even tundra plants are forced to adapt to a special light regime - the polar day. Here in the summer the sun does not rise high, but it shines around the clock. And thanks to this, local plants during the short growing season manage to get quite enough light, at least not much less than mid-latitude plants. The light intensity in the tundra is also higher, due to the purity and transparency of the atmosphere of this zone. And local plants have adapted perfectly to such a long day and are developing well.
Thus, in the tundra, the topsoil is the most favorable for life. There is also enough heat here and in the lowest layer of air that adjoins the earth itself. And these two layers can be measured with just a few centimeters. Therefore, do not be surprised that many tundra plants are not tall and are literally spread out on the ground. And their root systems grow mainly horizontally, almost without deepening. And in these latitudes, many plants grow, the leaves of which are collected in a basal rosette, as well as all kinds of creeping shrubs and bushes. They simply “learned” to use the heat located near the ground with maximum benefit and at the same time fight with strong local winds.
And the main plants of the tundra are mosses and lichens. There are many types of them, and they often cover huge spaces with a continuous carpet. Most of these mosses and lichens are associated not only with the tundra. For example, green mosses such as chylocomium, pleurocium, cuckoo flax or lichens such as deer moss are also found in forests. But there are also species of these plants that can be found only in the tundra. All of them perfectly tolerate the climate of the tundra. These plants can winter both under and without snow cover.
But the vegetation cover of the tundra is not so uniform. In some places, a carpet of moss and lichen is diluted with a moss swamp. In other places, mainly shrubs grow - alpine bearberry, partridge grass, blueberries, veronica. And closer to the forest-tundra zone there are shrubbery, consisting of low birches and willows. Also closer to forests and river valleys, the permafrost layer is a little deeper. The winds in these places are also not so severe. And here you can find trees such as larch and birch. But these tundra plants have a very miserable appearance, their height is not more than 6 meters.
And in the summer, various flowers bloom in the tundra for a very short time, such as forget-me-nots, polar poppies, bluebells, dandelions, buttercups, saxifrages, and others. The plants growing here are mostly evergreen and perennial. They no longer need to lose precious time every year for growth and development, as well as for foliage. But they grow slowly, gaining several millimeters per year. Also closer to autumn, various berries ripen here, such as cloudberries, princess, lingonberries, cranberries and blueberries.