Svalbard, Norway Photograph by Galen R. Frysinger   Palaearctic Tundra   62,300 square miles (161,400 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Maine Relatively Stable/Intact

· Covered in Ice
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Covered in Ice

Imagine standing on some of the northern-most reaches of land in the world. During most of the year your feet would most likely be resting on ice and snow, and if you turned around in a circle, ice and snow are probably all that you would see. But this land is not lifeless. The Arctic Desert ecoregion is home to several hardy species of birds and mammals.

Special Features

The Arctic Desert ecoregion is one of the most northern and isolated landscapes on Earth. This ecoregion is made up of several island groups that are bound in ice most of the year. Here, wide plains give way to mountains marked by dome glaciers. Temperatures stay cold, ranging from an average of –22˚ F (-30˚ C) in February to an average of 33˚ F (1˚ C) in July. Vegetation is sparse, consisting mainly of mosses, lichens, and low grasses.

	During migration, arctic terns travel farther than most other birds. Their round-trip journey is roughly 21,000 miles (34,000 km)--about the same as the circumference of the earth! They breed in the Arctic during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer and then spend the winter in the Southern Hemisphere, often in the Antarctic.

Wild Side

Vast colonies of seabirds can be found nesting on the cliffs of this ecoregion. Common birds include the Atlantic puffin, an able swimmer that uses its wings to "fly" through the water like a penguin. Snowy owls also live here, surviving on hares and lemmings that they swoop down upon and grab with their powerful talons. Other birds include arctic terns, ivory gulls, and snow buntings. Also found here are several species of large mammals, including polar bears, caribou, arctic foxes, and walruses. Here, polar bears rule the food chain. Sometimes weighing more than 1,500 pounds (680 kg), they share the title of the world's largest land predators with the Kodiak brown bears of Alaska.

Cause for Concern

Few direct threats exist for this ecoregion, simply because humans are largely absent. But where humans have tread, this ecoregion has suffered. Plans for a northern shipping route through the Russian Arctic could open up oil, gas, and other natural resources for exploitation. This could increase the risk of oil spills and introduce species such as rats to the ecoregion, which could have drastic consequences for nesting seabirds. The Novaya Zemlya area has a unique problem. It has been serving as a test area for nuclear weapons and suffers from elevated levels of plutonium, cesium, and other radioactive pollutants.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.