The Taimyr–Central Siberian tundra spans the Taymyr Peninsula in the Russian Far North, the northernmost continental land in the world, stretching from the Yenisei River delta eastward toward the Lena. Its vegetation is dominated by forbs, grasses, dwarf shrubs, and lichen, with sparse stands of willow and dwarf birch in sheltered river valleys and along lakeshores, grading southward into Dahurian larch forest. The climate is severely cold, ranging from a tundra type in the north to subarctic in the south, with a winter of eight to nine months, a polar night lasting 85 to 100 days, and modest annual precipitation around 250 to 450 millimeters. The region is one of the most important migratory-bird breeding grounds in the area, supporting breeding colonies of the vulnerable red-breasted goose, the world's largest population of wild reindeer, and reintroduced herds of muskox. Pockets of relict Holocene steppe meadow persist among the tundra, though the ecoregion faces pressure from industrial pollution near Norilsk and increasing Arctic shipping.

At a glance

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.

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.

Related ecoregions