"The alpine tundra is a land of contrast and incredible intensity, where the sky is the size of forever and the flowers the size of a millisecond"(Willard 3). Alpine tundra is described as the land above the tree line and below the "line of perpetual snow on all high mountains"(Willard xv). Plants and animals living in the alpine zone must make adaptations to the harsh conditions. The abundance of alpine tundra in the United States is slim; it can be found in places such as The Rocky Mountains, The Sierra Nevada, The White Mountains of California,The Southern Cascades, The Olympic Mountains, and Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Access to these areas is mostly by foot, and constant trampling can significantly hurt the alpine plants if people are not careful to stay on the trails and treat the area with respect.

The vegetation in the alpine tundra is consistent from place to place; the same plants can be found in the Rocky Mountains that are present on Mount Washington. These plants have adapted themselves to the harsh environment in which they thrive. In general alpine plants are smaller, skinnier, and have less leaves and flowers than plants nearer to sea level. However, the flowers that do blossom on the alpine plants are proportionally large. Many alpine plants are grasses with only the essential flower for reproduction purposes. The advantage of the grasses is that the strong winds do not tear the plant apart. Plants such as lichens and mosses are non-flowering. These size characteristics play a helpful role in their survival, because the plants are kept close to the ground and out of the worst of the tundra's weather.

The colors of alpine plants are vibrant. Numerous plants contain the anthocyanin pigment. If the plant's sap is acid the plant will produce reds, and if its sap is alkaline the plant will produce blues. These anthocyanin's which produce some color in the plant's stems and leaves serve a greater purpose; they "are capable of converting incident light rays into heat to warm plant tissues"(Willard 19). Therefore, the plants with a greater amount of anthocyanin survive more efficiently in the cold then greener plants.

The hair present on many alpine plants serves a few purposes. First of all, the hairs protect "the plants stomata, the pores through which a plant breathes"(Willard 33). The hairs act as shield against the strong light. Too much light could damage cells, especially if it is reflected off of the rock or snow. However, the hairs absorb the heat rays from the light and trap them to warm the plant with. On some plant species the hair reduces water loss by becoming a barrier to the strong winds.

By becoming so well adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine tundra these plants have almost made it impossible for themselves to live in any other conditions. At higher altitudes the plants have a short growing season; therefore, their rate of respiration and photosynthesis is much faster than a plant at a lower altitude. The high altitude of the alpine zone means cold temperatures and snow, even during the summer months. The snowfalls provide water and insulation to the plants and soil beneath. The lack of trees at the high altitude means that there are no shadows or surfaces to block the sunlight. The amount of ultra violet radiation above the tree line is more than double the amount at sea level(Willard 4).

There are a few types of growth patterns found in alpine vegetation; cushion growth, mat growth and rosette growth. Cushion growth plants grow in clusters over the rocks of the tundra. Staying low to the ground, they grow in an aerodynamic shape which allows the wind to flow right over them. The foliage of these plants grows to allow the maximum amount of photosynthesis while blocking out the most wind possible. The temperature inside the cushion plants could be many degrees higher than outside at times. Mat growth plants are just the opposite of cushion plants, they spread out as they grow instead of becoming tighter. Rosette growth plants do not expand outward as they grow like the mat plants, but they do grow flat to the ground. This way they are "in the warmer air at the soil's surface, receiving direct sunlight as well as reflected heat from beneath"(Willard 28). Their radial symmetry is important in ensuring moisture, light and nutrients and quick and efficient trip to the tip of each leaf.

Animals also live in the alpine environment, and have adapted to its climate. There are a number of different flies which live on the alpine tundra, and serve as important pollinators for the plants. Bees, which pollinate at the lower altitudes, can not work where the temperatures are below 50 degrees F, as they often are in the alpine zone. Many of the adult insects are half the size of their "lowland counterpart"(Willard 42). The number of birds found on the alpine tundra is limited. In fact, only one bird, the ptarmigan, lives there all year round. During the harsh winter storms the ptarmigan's all huddle in a tight circle, nestled into the snow, to retain their heat. In addition their legs and feet are covered completely in feathers during the winter to insulate from the cold and act as snow shoes so that they can walk easier. Other birds such as the hawk and eagle fly at the high elevations but do not live there.

ptarmigan

There are a few mammals who live above the tree line all year, but most will leave for the winter since food becomes almost impossible to find. The pocket gopher is among the few that remain year round. This small mammal lives underground, burrowing all over the tundra. "Burrowing is not a common activity in the alpine tundra because so much of the ground is too rocky"(Willard 44). The pocket gopher's burrowing is an important part of the alpine ecosystem however. Seeds are redistributed, the soil is aerated, the soiled get churned; therefore, burying plants that are decomposing and thus helping to fertilize the soil. Also the gophers leave their own excretion underground, and will decompose there when they die. Because the gopher lives beneath the ground and the snow, it does not have to migrate or hibernate to survive the winter.

The pika, a member of the rabbit family, also lives on the alpine tundra all year round. The typical long ears of a rabbit have shortened on the pika so that they are not prone to getting frozen. It is common on animals of colder climates to have smaller extremities, since they are apt to lose heat at a fast rate. The pika also has fur on the bottom of its feet so it does not slip on the rocks. Pikas have been seen during all 12 months of the year the thought is that they do not hibernate. Slightly larger than the pika is the marmot. During the summer months marmots eat until they can eat no more, and then they hibernate all winter long. The largest mammals that live in the alpine zone, such as bull elk, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, coyotes and mountain lions leave the tundra during the winter months, with the exception of the bull elk. There is not enough food for all of these large animals to stay there in the winter. In addition the below zero temperatures can penetrate through some of their fur coats and freeze them, just as it would human flesh.

marmot

With such extreme conditions, inhabitants of the alpine zone are well adapted and sensitive to changes in the environment. Conservation of the alpine tundra, and of mountains in general should be a concern, especially when they are getting so much more use and abuse then they were even a decade ago. On the east coast it is extremely important that we take care of the alpine zone because we have so little of it to enjoy; Mount Washington.

The weather on Mount Washington alone sets it alone from west coast alpine tundra. The White Mountain National Forest warns visitors to the mountain's alpine zone that Mount Washington is host to some of the worst weather in America, and that many people have died on the mountain, even during the summer months. "The winds on Mount Washington are legendary"(Willard 339). In 1934 the Mount Washington Observatory recorded that they reached a record 231 mph (http://www.mountwashington.org/). The climate of Mount Washington resembles that of the arctic; "high levels of atmospheric moisture in fog and rain, long periods of cloud cover, and warmth beginning earlier in the spring"(Willard 370).

There are many organizations dedicated to conserving the miles of trails in the United Sates; the American Society for example, and many on the east coast alone such as the Appalachian Mountain Club and the New England Wildflower Society who "rescue' the trails and plants. "The AMC is responsible for maintaining approximately 350 miles of trails on the forest, and 1400 miles of trails extending from Maine to Virginia"(http://www.hedgehog-hill.com/jn/mountainear/052198/story.html).

Each year on June 6th there is a National Trails Day. This past year, 1998, there were 14,097 who registered, 43% of those were new to trail work(Backpacker June 1998). AMC sponsors programs in which anyone can volunteer their time for a day, a week or even adopt a one mile segment of a trail in the White Mountain National Forest as their own to take care of.

In 1977 the AMC constructed scree walls (scree is made up of rocks smaller than a fist but bigger than gravel) on the alpine portion of the Franconia Ridge Trail to help the trail recover some of its lost vegetation. In 1989, twelve years later, the amount of vegetation surrounding the trail had risen by 20%. There are more than 485 plants on the Federal endangered species list. One of these plants is the Potentilla robbinsiana that grows almost exclusively around AMC's Lake's of the Clouds Hut. Rerouting trails, disallowing public access to the plant's habitat, education programs, annual population counts, "studying the species reproductive and morality rates, collecting seeds, rearing plants and transplanting them into new locations" has helped this alpine plant's population to increase by over 60%! Soon the Potentilla robbinsiana may be taken off of the endangered species list.

It is not always over use of the land that ruin trails and ill plants. For example, ice storms can often damages and even kill thousands of tress, and make some trails irreparable. However, some believe that it is for the better in the end. The dead trees will house more life than they did while they lived, and the mess of debris and dead trees on the forest floor "will provide food and shelter...for animals ranging from insects to black bears"(http://fosters.com/news98.march/30/xme0330a.htm). As Dearborn said, "Our soil wouldn't be what it is without this constant recycling"(http:/fosters.com/news98.march/30/xme0330a.htm).

Willard, Beatrice and Zwinger, Ann. Land Above the Trees. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1972

http://www.fosters.com/news98/march/30/xme0330a.htm (January 10, 1999) The Associated Press

http://www.amc-nh.org/icestorms/#trails (January 10, 1999) The Appalachian Mountain Club

http://www.mountwashington.org/ (January 13, 1999) The Mount Washington Observatory

http://outdoors.org:8081/conservation/land/alpine-ecosystems.html (January 10, 1999) The Appalachian Mountain Club

http://www.outdoors.org/join.volunteer/trail-maintenance.html (January 10, 1999) The Appalachian Mountain Club