Torngat Mountain tundra

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Torngat Mountain tundra
Korok River below Korluktok Falls.jpg
Torngat Mountain tundra map.svg
Ecoregion territory (in green)
Ecology
Realm Nearctic
Biome Tundra
Geography
Area32,363 km2 (12,495 sq mi)
Country Canada
Coordinates 58°45′N64°30′W / 58.75°N 64.5°W / 58.75; -64.5

The Torngat Mountain tundra ecoregion (WWF ID: NA1118) covers the Torngat Mountains on the northeastern tip of the Labrador Peninsula where the provinces of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador meet. The mountains feature glacially carved U-shaped valleys and deep fjords. The vegetation over most of the territory is that of arctic tundra (lichen, moss, sedges and grasses), herbaceous cover, or bare rock. The region supports seasonal polar bears, black bears, and caribou. The Atlantic coast is on the Atlantic Flyway for migratory birds. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Location and description

The Torngat Mountains are the southernmost range of the Arctic Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges that reach 2,500 km to the northern point of Ellsmere Island. The Torngat Mountains form a peninsula between Ungava Bay on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east. The ecoregion is only 100 km wide, and 300 km north to south. Rising from sea level, the mean elevation is 490 metres (1,610 ft) meters, and the highest point 1,498 metres (4,915 ft). The west side is continuous permafrost; the eastern (Atlantic coast side) has discontinuous permafrost. The bordering ecoregion on the west and south is the Eastern Canadian Shield taiga.

Climate

The climate of the ecoregion is Tundra climate (Köppen climate classification 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). [5] [6] Precipitation averages 300-700 mm/year; average temperature in the winter is −16.5 °C (2.3 °F) and 4 °C (39 °F) in the summer. [1]

Flora and fauna

Ground cover in the region is 68% moss and lichen, 15% herbaceous cover, and less than 1% evergreen forest. The remainder is bare rock, sparse vegetation or open water. [3] The areas with mixed evergreen and deciduous shrubs tend to be on sheltered, south-facing slopes. Where tundra and open forest meet there is often a transition zone of birch/willow thickets. [4]

Mammals are mostly small species, but there are noteworthy populations of polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) denning in the region seasonally, an unusual community of tundra-dwelling black bears ( Ursus americanus ), and a herd of Torngat caribou. [4]

Protected areas

Over 41% of the ecoregion is officially protected. [3] These protected areas include:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torngat Mountains</span> Mountain range in eastern Canada

The Torngat Mountains are a mountain range on the Labrador Peninsula at the northern tip of Newfoundland and Labrador and eastern Quebec. They are part of the Arctic Cordillera. The mountains form a peninsula that separates Ungava Bay from the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baffin coastal tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Nunavut, Canada

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taymyr Nature Reserve</span> Strict nature reserve in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeast Siberian taiga</span> Ecoregion in northeastern Siberia, Russia

The Northeast Siberian taiga ecoregion is an area of "sparse taiga forest" between the Lena River and the Kolyma River in northeastern Siberia, Russia. The ecoregion's internal borders form a patchwork of territory constituting the southern part of the East Siberian Lowland, as well as lowlands around the East Siberian Mountains, including the ridges and peaks of the Verkhoyansk Range and the Chersky Range. On the southern border of the ecoregion is the north coast of the Sea of Okhotsk, giving the region maritime boreal forests as well as the continental forests situated inland. The ecoregion is one of the largest tracts of virgin boreal forest in the world, due to the very sparse population and difficult access. It is mostly in the Sakha Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Canadian Shield taiga</span> Taiga ecoregion in Canada

Northern Canadian Shield taiga is a taiga ecoregion located in northern Canada, stretching from Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories to Hudson Bay in eastern Nunavut. The region supports conifer forests to its northern edge, where the territory grades into tundra. The open forest in this transition zone is characterized by widely scattered, stunted stands of black spruce and tamarack, with some white spruce. The ecoregion lies over the northwestern extent of the Canadian Shield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Arctic tundra</span>

The Canadian Arctic tundra is a biogeographic designation for Northern Canada's terrain generally lying north of the tree line or boreal forest, that corresponds with the Scandinavian Alpine tundra to the east and the Siberian Arctic tundra to the west inside the circumpolar tundra belt of the Northern Hemisphere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transbaikal Bald Mountain tundra</span>

The Transbaikal Bald Mountain tundra ecoregion covers the high-altitude peak zones above the treeline in a series of mountain ranges that stretch from the northern reaches of Lake Baikal to the western coastal ranges of the Okhotsk Sea. Floral communities are those of mountain tundra, with bare rock or permafrost under layers of moss and lichen. Because the ecoregion is aligned along a common latitude, it acts as a route for the transmission of species across Siberia. The ecoregion is in the Palearctic realm and the tundra biome. It has an area of 217,559 square kilometres (84,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Hudson Bay taiga</span> Taiga ecoregion of Canada

The Southern Hudson Bay taiga is a terrestrial ecoregion, as classified by the World Wildlife Fund, which extends along the southern coast of Hudson Bay and resides within the larger taiga biome. The region is nearly coterminous with the Hudson Plain, a Level I ecoregion of North America as designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra</span> Ecoregion that covers the island of Iceland

The Iceland boreal birch forests and alpine tundra ecoregion covers the island of Iceland in the North Atlantic. The island is volcanic in origin with basaltic soils, and the cold northerly climate prevents any significant crop agriculture. Because the island is young and isolated from larger land masses, species biodiversity is relatively low. Forest cover has been reduced to about 1% of the original birch forest by a long history of timber extraction and soil erosion caused by sheep grazing. Blanket bogs are common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest Territories taiga</span> Taiga ecoregion located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon provinces of Canada

The Northwest Territories taiga ecoregion (WWF:NA0614) is located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon provinces of Canada. It covers forest and tundra along the Mackenzie River Valley and the surrounding highlands in the southern portion of the valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davis Highlands tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Nunavut, Canada

The Davis Highlands tundra ecoregion covers the Baffin Mountains on the northeast coast of Baffin Island and Bylot Island, facing Baffin Bay in Nunavut, northern Canada. The terrain is extremely rugged, heavily glaciated, with many deep fjords, and very cold. About half of the territory is moss and lichen tundra, the other half bare rock and ice. The region is wetter than the much drier regions to the southwest of the Baffin Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Canada

The Canadian High Arctic Tundra ecoregion encompasses most of the northern Arctic archipelago, from much of Baffin Island, Somerset Island, and Prince of Wales Island in the south, through all islands northward to the most northern island in Canada, Ellesmere Island. Much of the northern islands are covered in ice, and the climate is very dry with as little as 50 mm/year in places. The ecoregion has very little human habitation, and most of the non-ice terrain is moss and lichen cover. The region supports viable populations of arctic mammals such as muskox, arctic wolves, arctic foxes, arctic hares, polar bears, and caribou.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interior Yukon–Alaska alpine tundra</span>

The Interior Yukon-Alaska alpine tundra ecoregion covers alpine, sub-alpine, and boreal forest areas along the cordillera of Interior Alaska and south-central Yukon Territory. Geologically, they are the disjunct uplands of the Yukon-Tanana Terrane plus a southern extension of the Brooks Range. The cover is extensive 'dark taiga' of closed spruce forest, open forest of other species, and alpine vegetation at higher altitudes. The region is mostly wilderness and relatively untouched by human development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra</span> Ecoregion in northeastern Greenland

The Kalaallit Nunaat high arctic tundra ecoregion covers the coastal areas of northern including the upper half of the west coast and the upper one-third of the east coast. Greenland. 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, protects a majority of the land within the ecoregion. The Pituffik Space Base is also located in this ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalaallit Nunaat Arctic Steppe</span>

The Kalaallit Nunaat Arctic Steppe ecoregion covers the low coastal areas of western and southern Greenland, reaching in up to 100 km before bare rock and ice become dominant. While much of the ecoregion is bare rock or ice, about 50% of the ground is covered in moss and lichen, and another 10% in herbaceous cover, shrubs, and even small stands of trees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Low Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada

The Canadian Low Arctic Tundra ecoregion covers a rolling landscape of shrubby tundra vegetation along the northern edge of the mainland Canada along the border of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and a small portion in Quebec on the northeast coast of Hudson Bay. The region is important for large herds of caribou and other large mammals, and for large nesting colonies of birds such as snow geese. The region is mostly intact, with 95% remaining intact.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle Arctic tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada

The Canadian Middle Arctic Tundra ecoregion covers a broad stretch of northern Canada - the southern islands of the Arctic Archipelago, plus the northern mainland of Nunavut and, across Hudson Bay to the east, a portion of northern Quebec. This is the coldest and driest ecoregion in Canada, and can be referred to as a 'polar desert'. It is an important region for breeding and migratory birds, and supports 80% of the world's muskox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogilvie–MacKenzie alpine tundra</span> Tundra ecoregion of Canada and the United States

The Ogilvie–MacKenzie alpine tundra ecoregion covers the mountainous middle of the Yukon Territory in Canada, with extensions into the Northwest Territories. The vegetation is alpine and subalpine open forest of stunted spruce, fir and pine. The area is rugged but sections appear to have been unglaciated in the late Pleistocene and there are therefore relic species in the region. The area is remote and supports large, sustainable predator-prey systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kytalyk National Park</span>

Kytalyk National Park is a protected area for the Arctic breeding grounds of migratory birds on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, including a significant portion of sites for the critically endangered Siberian crane. The name "kytalyk" is the Yakut-language word for the Siberian crane. The park is on the low-lying tundra of the delta of the Indigirka River, on the East Siberian Sea in northern Russia. The park was officially created in 2019. The park is located in Allaikhovsky District of the Sakha Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tundra of North America</span>

The Tundra of North America is a Level I ecoregion of North America designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas.

References

  1. 1 2 "Torngat Mountain tundra". World Wildlife Federation. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  2. "Map of Ecoregions 2017". Resolve, using WWF data. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 "Torngat Mountain tundra". Digital Observatory for Protected Areas. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 "Torngat Mountain tundra". The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  5. Kottek, M.; Grieser, J.; Beck, C.; Rudolf, B.; Rubel, F. (2006). "World Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Updated" (PDF). Gebrüder Borntraeger 2006. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  6. "Dataset - Koppen climate classifications". World Bank. Retrieved September 14, 2019.