The Faroe Islands boreal grasslands

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 ...

(WWF ID: PA0807) covers all of the territory of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, an

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

of 18 islands in the North Atlantic, roughly equidistant between

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. The ground cover is mostly grassland and dwarf shrub

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 a ...

(about 80% of the land), the remainder is bare ground or sparse vegetation. There are no forests on the islands.

Location and description

The territory of the ecoregion covers across 18 islands of the archipelago, all clustered within a 100 km circle. The terrain is rocky, with some low peaks (the highest elevation is at

Slættaratindur Slættaratindur (English: ''Flat peak'') is the highest mountain in the Faroe Islands, at an elevation of 880 metres. It is located in the northern part of Eysturoy, between the villages of Eiði, Gjógv, and Funningur. Funningur lies at the fo ...

) and cliffs along much of the coast.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is '' Oceanic climate, subpolar variety'' (

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 ...

(Cfc)). This climate is characterized temperatures cooler than oceanic climates farther from the poles, and with milder winters than those of subarctic or continental climates. No month averages below , and at least one to three months average above . The climate in the Faroes is relatively mild for its position at 61-62 degrees north latitude, being warmed by the

North Atlantic Current The North Atlantic Current (NAC), also known as North Atlantic Drift and North Atlantic Sea Movement, is a powerful warm western boundary current within the Atlantic Ocean that extends the Gulf Stream northeastward. The NAC originates from where ...

. There are 210 rainy or snowy days per year, typically cloudy and windy. Precipitation averages per year, although this can vary locally within the islands depending on elevation and wind patterns.

Flora and fauna

Most of the land cover is alpine-arctic in character: wildflowers, grasses, and common heather ('' Calluna vulgaris''). About 20% of the terrain is bare rock with sparse vegetation or moss and lichen. There are no forests on the island, although remains of birch trees in the soil suggest that trees were more common before the arrival of humans in the 9th century. In recent years, the Faroes have seen the introduction of climate-tolerant tree species from other oceanic areas of the world such as

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla ...

and

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. Sea birds and birds are the most common fauna, with some sea mammals. Common birds include puffins (''Fratercula arctica''),

razorbill The razorbill, razor-billed auk, or lesser auk (''Alca torda'') is a colonial seabird and the only extant member of the genus '' Alca'' of the family Alcidae, the auks. It is the closest living relative of the extinct great auk (''Pinguinis im ...

s (''Alca torda''), and

guillemot Guillemot is the common name for several species of seabird in the Alcidae or auk family (part of the order Charadriiformes). In British use, the term comprises two genera: '' Uria'' and ''Cepphus''. In North America the ''Uria'' species ...

s (''Uria aalge''). All land mammals have been introduced by humans.

Protected areas

There are no officially protected areas in this ecoregion.

References

{{reflist Palearctic ecoregions Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Ecoregions of Denmark Geography of the Faroe Islands