Canadian High Arctic tundra ecoregion

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Canadian High Arctic tundra

RESOLVE 412

The Canadian High Arctic Tundra spans Canada's northernmost Arctic islands, from Baffin and Prince of Wales Islands north to Ellesmere Island in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. It is among the coldest and driest ecoregions in North America—effectively a polar desert—with mean summer temperatures near or below freezing, continuous permafrost extending hundreds of meters deep, and annual precipitation of roughly 50–200 mm. Sparse vegetation of lichens, mosses, sedges, saxifrages, and low Arctic willow clings to flat sedimentary plains, rocky plateaus, and mountains reaching 2,500 m on Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg Islands. The endangered Peary caribou is the flagship species, having declined from over 40,000 individuals in 1961 to roughly 700 by 2009; only about 8% of the ecoregion is formally protected though most of it remains intact.

Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 80.3°N, 78.1°W.

Climate snapshot for this ecoregion

°C

°F

Current zone range (2011–2040)

4a-5a

Plotwright

CHELSA-derived typical winter month at this ecoregion's bbox grid.

Projected (2041–2070)

4b-6a

Plotwright

Where the CHELSA models say the typical winter month is heading.

Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +11.3°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 10 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.

At a glance

Dominant biome

Tundra

Realm

Nearctic

Approximate area

249,649 sq mi

Conservation tier

Nature Could Reach Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 2)

About the tundra biome

Treeless polar and high-mountain landscapes of low shrubs, sedges, mosses, and lichens, where cold and a short growing season cap plant height. Soils are frequently frozen as permafrost, and these systems recover only slowly from disturbance.

National refinement sub-regions

Within this RESOLVE ecoregion, national agencies recognise finer-grained sub-regions. Plotwright assigns each sub-region polygon to its containing RESOLVE polygon by centroid.

Canadian NEF Ecoprovinces — 3 ecoprovinces

1.1 · Northern Arctic Cordillera

2.2 · Ellesmere Basin

2.6 · Baffin Uplands

Source: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, NEF v2.2 (Open Government Licence — Canada).

Catalog plants suited to this ecoregion

Computed from each plant's stated USDA zone range against this ecoregion's CHELSA-derived current zone range, with the CHELSA mid-century warming delta applied for the projection. Plants whose stated range falls outside both the current and projected zone end up dropped; the rest land in one of the three buckets below.

Climate-resilient picks · 235

These plants fit this ecoregion today AND remain in range under the mid-century SSP3-7.0 projection. Lead with these for a planting that holds up as the climate shifts.

American red raspberry

Bearberry (kinnikinnick)

Black tupelo (black gum)

Calendula (pot marigold)

Canada goldenrod

Canadian serviceberry

Cantaloupe

Cardinal flower

Carolina allspice (sweetshrub)

Firecracker penstemon

Fragrant plantain lily

Maypop (purple passionflower)

Northern maidenhair fern

Short-toothed mountain mint

Summersweet (sweet pepperbush)

Tulip tree (yellow poplar)

Newly possible by 2070 · 13

These plants don't fit the current zone range yet, but the mid-century projection brings them into reach. Long-horizon picks for the climate-adaptation wedge.

Collections for this ecoregion

Curated multi-plant collections whose members all fit this ecoregion's zone range — no won't-grow members smuggled in. Overall fit class shown per collection is the weakest link across its members.

Climate-resilient · 2 plants

Bright shade foundation

A part-shade starting point with shrub structure and low foliage contrast.

Annabelle hydrangea

Coral bells

Climate-resilient · 8 plants

Climate-resilient natives for warming zones (eastern NA)

A pollinator-supporting palette of eastern NA natives whose USDA zone range and broad continental distribution score high on the climate-resilience composite. Every plant tolerates 6-7 USDA zones and is native across 15+ US states + multiple Canadian provinces. Holds up under the SSP3-7.0 mid-century projection without the gardener trading wildlife value for resilience.