Ust'Lensky Zapovednik, Sakha Republic, Russia Photograph by Laura Williams   Palaearctic Tundra   368,600 square miles (954,700 square kilometers) -- about thrice the size of New Mexico Vulnerable

· Between the Rivers
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Between the Rivers

In the Russian arctic zone, between Siberia's two longest rivers, the Yenisey and Lena, sits a diverse ecoregion. This is the most species-rich arctic area in all of eastern Siberia--and a haven for breeding birds.

Special Features

The immense Lena River Delta and Taimyr Peninsula are the key features of this ecoregion, which is located in the central section of the Russian arctic. The Lena Delta is covered with tundra and crossed by a dense network of channels and lakes. The Taimyr Peninsula is a large mountainous and arctic coastal plain on the Russian north coast. Lowland areas of this ecoregion are extremely boggy; vegetation includes sedge, cotton grass, arctic-bell-heather, and willow.

	Because lemmings are often unable to dig burrows for shelter in arctic areas where permafrost makes the ground too hard, they create large, round nests of grasses and sedges on top of the ground. They use the nests for insulation when they are not out foraging for food.

Wild Side

No less than 67 species of breeding birds can be found on the Lena River Delta, and the Taimyr Peninsula is similarly diverse. A total of 110 bird species have been documented in the Taimyrsky Nature Reserve. These species include barnacle geese, red-breasted geese, red knots, broad-billed sandpipers, and purple sandpipers. Other common bird species include black brants, curlew sandpipers, and king eiders. Brown and collared lemmings, wolves, arctic foxes, and reindeer (caribou) also inhabit this ecoregion.

Cause for Concern

Although human populations are scarce and human threats are few, this ecoregion is at risk from nickel smelters in the city of Norilsk, the biggest single source of sulfur emissions in the world. These nickel smelters produce up to half of the world’s platinum. Sulfur dioxide emissions here have already destroyed an enormous amount of the forest in the ecoregion, and a reported one million hectares of forest are polluted. A proposed northern shipping route could also open sensitive areas to oil and gas extraction and possible oil spills.

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