Kalaallit Nunaat High Arctic tundra ecoregion

›

Kalaallit Nunaat High Arctic tundra

RESOLVE 418

The Kalaallit Nunaat High Arctic tundra wraps around the top of Greenland, the most northern land on the planet, covering the upper half of the west coast and the upper third of the east coast. Its climate is high Arctic, or polar desert, with brutal winters, summers that rarely exceed 5C, and annual precipitation of just 25-200 mm. Plant life is sparse and treeless: mosses, lichens, scattered heath, and low cushion plants of the fellfields, with hardy wildflowers such as sulphur-colored buttercup. The second-largest ice cap on Earth covers 75-80% of the island, leaving little ice-free ground. The world's largest national park, Northeast Greenland National Park, lies within this ecoregion, though climate change and oil production are emerging threats.

Marker placed inside the RESOLVE 2017 polygon at 81.9°N, 33.2°W.

Climate snapshot for this ecoregion

°C

°F

Current zone range (2011–2040)

2b-6b

Plotwright

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

Projected (2041–2070)

3a-7a

Plotwright

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

Average warming this ecoregion is on track for: +7.8°F by mid-century. SSP3-7.0 (current trajectory) · CHELSA v2.1 bio06 sampled across 9 of 10 points within this ecoregion's bounding box.

At a glance

Dominant biome

Tundra

Realm

Nearctic

Approximate area

57,150 sq mi

Conservation tier

Half Protected (Dinerstein NNH 1)

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.

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 · 248

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)

California poppy

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 · 10

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.