The European Arctic Biogeographic Region is the

biogeographic Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...

region of Europe around and in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

Extent

The European Commission and the Council of Europe have defined the European Arctic biogeographical region for the purpose of reporting on conservation efforts and results. The region includes Iceland and parts of Norway and Russia, including

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

(Spitsbergen),

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...

and

Novaya Zemlya Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...

. It has a land area of , of which 63% is in Russia, 22% in Norway and 15% in Iceland. About 60% of the land is covered by grassland and tundra.

Environment

The region has a wide variety of landscapes, and includes some of the last remaining large wilderness areas in Europe. Many of the land areas are coastal, strongly affected by exchange with the sea. Large areas are ice-covered, and many areas have

permafrost Permafrost () is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below for two years or more; the oldest permafrost has been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years. Whilst the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below ...

, creating demanding conditions for plants and animals. Most species are dormant in winter, but large number of plants and animals are active in the warmer months. There are many species of migrating birds and fish, common to all the polar regions. The environment is affected by air pollution from distant sources. Some areas have been affected by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

, and are now being affected by tourism. Global warming will force species to move northward or to higher elevations, and may cause some extinctions.

Citations

Sources

* {{authority control Environment of the Arctic Geography of the Arctic Biogeography