I cannot get over how really cool the tundra is!! Every time we hike across it or I just get a moment to stop and look at it there is always something different and interesting to see. Before I came to Alaska I thought that tundra was mostly frozen ground that supported a few small plants, which all pretty much looked the same. Boy was I wrong. Walking over it is like flying low in a small airplane as you pass over endless stretches of dense jungle with an ever-changing variety of shapes and colors. The more you look, the more there is to see!
As we were clearing a few of the study areas today it amazed me to see that under 30 centimeters of snow some of the plants had already started making buds and getting an early start on the summer. The one plant that stood out the most was the Cotton Grass. It looks like grass, only very clumpy. These clumps are known as tussocks, and they are one great adaptation the helps the plant get a jump on the competition. Because they grow in a tussock, which means kind of a thick ball of grass, the plant can maintain an internal temperature that is warmer during the winter than the other plants. In fact the plants are so good at this that they make a kind of micro-environment inside the tussocks. They stay warmer and they are able to use nutrients at a faster rate than their neighbors.
This Cotton Grass has been under a lot of snow for over five months!
This Cotton Grass is beginning to grow in the study site.
This tussock of grass was uncovered with snow last week.
Another smart adaptation that Cotton Grass has is its Rhizomes. These structures are deep in the plant and they work to store energy and nutrients for the plant during the winter. Because the ground is so frozen in the winter the Cotton Grass losses all of its roots and has to grow a new set the following spring. The roots grow down as the ground begins to thaw. So the Rhizomes help the plant grow even before it gets its roots down.
Cotton Grass grows in tussacks to help them be successful.
Cotton Grass is the most abundant plant on the tundra.
All of these adaptations help the plant become more successful in this part of the world. The Cotton Grass is so successful at growing that it has become the dominant plant in the tundra, in this area, and has twice the biomass of any other plant around. How is the Cotton Grass different from the grasses we have around our houses and parks at home? Why doesn't our grass need these adaptations? Why do you think it's called cotton grass?