The Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

(WWF ID: NA1112) covers the coastal areas of northern and eastern

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

(called ''Kalaallit Nunaat'' in the

Greenlandic language Greenlandic ( kl, kalaallisut, link=no ; da, grønlandsk ) is an Eskimo–Aleut language with about 56,000 speakers, mostly Greenlandic Inuit in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada such as Inuktitut. It is the mos ...

). Areas inland of this strip of land are either covered in ice or bare rock. About one-third of the region is covered by mosses and lichens, and another 3% by herbaceous vegetation and shrubs. The largest national park in the world,

Northeast Greenland National Park Northeast Greenland National Park ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, da, Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the 10th List of largest protected areas in the world, largest protected area (the only large ...

, protects a majority of the land within the ecoregion.

Location and description

The ecoregion covers the coastal fringe of Greenland, from 75° N latitude at

Melville Bay Melville Bay ( kl, Qimusseriarsuaq; da, Melville Bugt), is a large bay off the coast of northwestern Greenland. Located to the north of the Upernavik Archipelago, it opens to the south-west into Baffin Bay. Its Kalaallisut name, ''Qimusseriars ...

, around the northern coast to 70° N at

Scoresby Bay Scoresby Bay is an Arctic waterway in Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is located in Nares Strait by eastern Ellesmere Island's Darling Peninsula, west of Nunatami, Greenland. The bay is named in honor of William Scoresby, an English A ...

on the east coast. The coastal bands south of this are in the Kalaallit Nunaat low arctic tundra ecoregion. The coast is rugged, although less so than the south, with deep inlets from the sea. The most ice-free of this coastal band is on the northeast, in the region of

Peary Land Peary Land is a peninsula in northern Greenland, extending into the Arctic Ocean. It reaches from Victoria Fjord in the west to Independence Fjord in the south and southeast, and to the Arctic Ocean in the north, with Cape Morris Jesup, the north ...

. The lower soil is permafrost.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is ''

Tundra climate The tundra climate is a polar climate sub-type located in high latitudes and high mountains. undra climate https://www.britannica.com/science/tundra-climateThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2019 It is classified as ET according to Köppen ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

ET), a local climate in which at least one month has an average temperature high enough to melt snow (0 °C (32 °F)), but no month with an average temperature in excess of 10 °C (50 °F). There is less precipitation than in the south.

Flora and fauna

Plant life is sparse, with scattered fields of

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and

fellfield A fellfield or fell field comprises the environment of a slope, usually alpine or tundra, where the dynamics of frost (freeze and thaw cycles) and of wind give rise to characteristic plant forms in scree interstices. Soil dynamics The freeze-thaw ...

s of low herbaceous

cushion plants A cushion plant is a compact, low-growing, mat-forming plant that is found in alpine, subalpine, arctic, or subarctic environments around the world. The term "cushion" is usually applied to woody plants that grow as spreading mats, are limited in ...

. There are no trees. Vegetation is strongest on the east coast, with the greatest extents towards the south. Plant adaptations required to live in this harsh environment include tolerating cold, long periods of darkness, and precipitation that mostly falls as snow. 50% of the territory is bare rock and ice, or very sparse vegetation. 30% of the ecoregion has a cover of moss and lichen, and another 3% of herbaceous cover and shrubs. Some small areas on the east coast have greater plant life around

hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

, particularly marsh willowherb (''

Epilobium palustre ''Epilobium palustre'' is a species of willowherb known by the common name marsh willowherb. This plant has a circumboreal distribution, and can be found farther south in mountainous areas. Description This is a hairy perennial growing spindly s ...

'')) and the northern green orchid (''

Platanthera hyperborea ''Platanthera hyperborea'', the northern green orchid, is small orchid found only in Greenland, Iceland, and Akimiski Island in Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atl ...

''). Studies have identified eight types of vegetation on the east coast from 72 to 79° N: * Dwarf shrub heaths (''

Cassiope tetragona ''Cassiope tetragona'' (common names include Arctic bell-heather, white Arctic mountain heather and Arctic white heather) is a plant native to the high Arctic and northern Norway, where it is found widely. Growing to 10–20 cm in height ...

'', ''

Salix arctica ''Salix arctica'', the Arctic willow, is a tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae). It is adapted to survive in Arctic conditions, specifically tundras. Description ''S. arctica'' is typically a low shrub growing to only in height, rarely to ...

'', ''

Vaccinium uliginosum ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' (bog bilberry, bog blueberry, northern bilberry or western blueberry) is a Eurasian and North American flowering plant in the genus ''Vaccinium'' within the heath family. Distribution ''Vaccinium uliginosum'' is native ...

'' or ''

Betula nana ''Betula nana'', the dwarf birch, is a species of birch in the family Betulaceae, found mainly in the tundra of the Arctic region. Description It is a monoecious, deciduous shrub growing up to high. The bark is non-peeling and shiny red-copper ...

'', * Grasslands (dry in summer: ''

Arctagrostis latifolia ''Arctagrostis latifolia'', the wideleaf polargrass, is a widespread species of grass (family Poaceae), with a circumpolar distribution A circumpolar distribution is any range of a taxon that occurs over a wide range of longitudes but only at h ...

'', ''

Carex bigelowii ''Carex bigelowii'' is a species of sedge known by the common names Bigelow's sedge, Gwanmo sedge, and stiff sedge. It has an Arctic–alpine distribution in Eurasia and North America, and grows up to tall in a variety of habitats. Distribution ...

'', sooty sedge ('' Carex misandra''), and ''

Eriophorum triste ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog ha ...

'') * Permanently wet fens (''

Carex stans ''Carex'' is a vast genus of more than 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of genus ''Carex'' ...

'', ''

Eriophorum scheuchzeri ''Eriophorum scheuchzeri'' is a species of flowering plant in the sedge family known by the common names Scheuchzer's cottongrass and white cottongrass. It has an arctic circumpolar and circumboreal distribution in the Northern Hemisphere. It ...

'', and ''

Arctagrostis latifolia) ''Arctagrostis'' is a genus of Arctic and Subarctic plants in the grass family, native to colder parts of Europe, Asia, and North America. ; SpeciesFredskild, B. 1996. A phytogeographical study of the vascular plants of West Greenland (62°20'-7 ...

'' * Snowbeds ('' Phippsia algida'', ''

Salix herbacea ''Salix herbacea'', the dwarf willow, least willow or snowbed willow, is a species of tiny creeping willow (family Salicaceae) adapted to survive in harsh arctic and subarctic environments. Distributed widely in alpine and arctic environments ar ...

'', '' Trisetum spicatum'' and '' Erigeron humilis)''; * Open, graminoid Dryas-heaths and fellfields on dry soil ('' Carex nardina'', ''

Carex rupestris ''Carex rupestris'', called the curly sedge and rock sedge (names it shares with other members of its genus), is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to temperate and subarctic North America, Greenland, Iceland, Europe, ...

'', and '' Kobresia myosuroides)''; * Fellfields (''

Calamagrostis purpurascens ''Calamagrostis purpurascens'', is a perennial grass commonly known as purple reedgrass, purple pinegrass, or alpine reedgrass. It grows 30 to tall. Description ''Calamagrostis purpurascens'' is a large, clump forming, perennial grass; growing ...

'' and '' Carex supina'') * Communities on wet ground that is covered by an organic crust (''

Koenigia islandica ''Koenigia islandica'' is a species of annual flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae and is the type species of the genus ''Koenigia''. It is a very small plant and is found growing on wet gravel and scree in arctic tundra and alpi ...

'' and '' Festuca hyperborea''); * Halophytic vegetation ('' Puccinellia phryganodes'' and '' Carex subspathacea''). Parking (29751209227)

Protected areas

Over 71% of the ecoregion is officially protected. Portions of the ecoregion lie in: *

. The largest national park in the world. * Kilen Ramsar site. The northernmost Ramsar wetland in the world.

References

External links

*{{Commons category inline Nearctic ecoregions Ecoregions of Denmark Tundra ecoregions