Biology:Flora and fauna of Greenland
Although the bulk of its area is covered by ice caps inhospitable to most forms of life, Greenland's terrain and waters support a wide variety of plant and animal species. The northeastern part of the island is the world's largest national park. The flora and fauna of Greenland are strongly susceptible to changes associated with climate change.[1] The image galleries below link to information related to the flora and fauna of Greenland, including Latin taxonomy, Danish translations, and links to articles in the Danish Wikipedia, which can be helpful when searching for more information.
Flora
310 species of vascular plants were said to be found in Greenland in 2019,[citation needed] including 15 endemic species[citation needed]. Although individual plants can be profuse in favourable situations, relatively few plant species tend to be represented in a given place.
In northern Greenland, the ground is covered with a carpet of mosses and low-lying shrubs such as dwarf willows and crowberries. Flowering plants in the north include yellow poppy, Pedicularis, and Pyrola.[2][3] Plant life in southern Greenland is more abundant, and certain plants, such as the dwarf birch and willow, may grow several feet high.
The only natural forest in Greenland is found in the Qinngua Valley. The forest consists mainly of downy birch (Betula pubescens) and grey-leaf willow (Salix glauca), growing up to 7–8 metres (23–26 ft) tall,[4] although nine stands of conifers had been cultivated elsewhere by 2007.[1]
Horticulture shows a certain degree of success. Plants such as broccoli, radishes, spinach, leeks, lettuce, turnips, chervil, potatoes and parsley are grown up to considerable latitudes, while the very south of the country also rears asters, Nemophila, mignonette, rhubarb, sorrel and carrots.[3] Over the decade to 2007, the growing season lengthened by as much as three weeks.[1]
In the 13th-century Konungs skuggsjá (King's mirror), it is stated that the old Norsemen tried in vain to raise barley.[3] Recent research from archaeological digs on Greenland by the National Museum in Copenhagen discovered barley grains and concluded that the Vikings were able to grow barley.[5]
Cowberry
Vaccinium vitis-idaea
kimmernat / tyttebær
Kimmernat, TyttebærJuniper berry
Alpine Juniper
enebær
Kakillarnaq; Paarnaqulluk, EnebærDandelion
Taraxacum lacerum
inneruulaq / asorut / seqiniusaq / mælkebøtte
Inneruulaq; Asorut; Seqiniusaq, MælkebøtteBoreal cup lichen
Cladonia borealis Stenroos
orsuaasat ermusingasut /rensdyrlav
Orsuaasat ermusingasut, Bægerlav-familien
Fauna
Land mammals
Among the large land mammals are the musk ox, the reindeer,[6][7][8][9] the polar bear and the white Arctic wolf. Other familiar mammals in Greenland include the Arctic hare, collared lemming, Beringian ermine and Arctic fox.[3] Reindeer hunting is of considerable cultural importance to the people of Greenland.
Domesticated land mammals include dogs, which were introduced by the Inuit, as well as such European-introduced species as goats, Greenlandic sheep, oxen and pigs, which are raised in modest numbers in the south.[3]
Barren-ground caribou
Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus
rensdyr / renMuskox
Ovibos moschatus
moskusoksePolar bear
Ursus maritimus
isbjørnGreenland Arctic fox
Vulpes lagopus foragorapusis
polarrævGreenland Arctic hare
Lepus arcticus groenlandicus
snehareNorthern collared lemming
Dicrostonyx groenlandicus
lemming
Marine mammals
As many as two million seals are estimated to inhabit Greenland's coasts;[10] species include the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata) as well as the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus).[3] Whales frequently pass very close to Greenlandic shores in the late summer and early autumn. Species represented include the beluga whale, blue whale, Greenland whale, fin whale, humpback whale, minke whale, narwhal, pilot whale, sperm whale.[10] Whaling was formerly a major industry in Greenland; by the turn of the 20th century, however, the right whale population was so depleted that the industry was in deep decline.[3] Walruses are to be found primarily in the north and east of the country;[10] like narwhal, they have at times suffered from overhunting for their tusks.
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
narhvalHumpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
pukkelhvalOrca
Orcinus orca
spækhugger
Birds
As of 1911, 61 species of birds were known to breed in Greenland.[3] Certain birds such as the eider duck, guillemot and ptarmigan are often hunted for food in the winter.
Rock ptarmigan
Lagopus muta
rype
SkovhønsRaven
Corvus corax
ravnWhite-tailed sea eagle
Haliaeetus albicilla
havørnGyrfalcon
Falco rusticolus
jagtfalkCommon eider
Somateria mollissima
ederfuglLittle auk
Alle alle
søkongeSnow bunting
Plectrophenax nivalis
snespurvGreat cormorant
Phalacrocorax carbo
skarvGlaucous gull
Larus hyperboreus
gråmågeIceland gull
Larus glaucoides
hvidvinget mågeNorthern fulmar
Fulmarus glacialis
mallemukRed-necked phalarope
Phalaropus lobatus
odinshaneRed-breasted merganser
Mergus serrator
toppet skalleslugerLong-tailed duck (male)
Clangula hyemalis
havlitAtlantic puffin
Fratercula arctica
lunde
Fish
Of the many species of fish inhabiting Greenland's waters, several have been of economic importance, including cod, caplin, halibut, rockfish, nipisak (Cycloperteus lumpus) and sea trout. The Greenland shark is used for the oil in its liver, as well as fermented and eaten as hákarl, a local delicacy.
Atlantic cod
Gadus ogac
torskAtlantic salmon
Salmo salar
laksArctic char
Salvelinus alpinus
fjeldørredHalibut
Hippoglossus hippoglossus
helleflynderGreenland halibut
Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
hellefiskRose fish
Sebastes norvegicus
rødfisk
See also
- Fauna
- List of mammals of Nunavut
- List of Nunavut birds
- Flora
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sarah Lyall (28 October 2007). "Warming Revives Flora and Fauna in Greenland". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/world/europe/28greenland.html?pagewanted=all.
- ↑ Bay, Christian (1992). "A phytogeographical study of the vascular plants of northern Greenland - north of 74°00 northern latitude". Meddelelser om Grønland 36: 1–102.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 "Greenland". Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition.
- ↑ "Qinngua Valley". Wondermondo. 2013-06-23. http://www.wondermondo.com/Countries/NA/Greenland/Kujalleq/Qinngua.htm.
- ↑ Hildebr, Sybille; t (2012-02-03). "Vikings grew barley in Greenland" (in no). https://sciencenordic.com/agriculture-archaeology-denmark/vikings-grew-barley-in-greenland/1447746.
- ↑ Cuyler, C. (2007). "West Greenland caribou explosion: What happened? What about the future?". Rangifer 27 (4): 219. doi:10.7557/2.27.4.347.
- ↑ Jepsen, B.I.; Siegismund, H.R.; Fredholm, M. (2002). "Population genetics of the native caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) and the semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Southwestern Greenland: Evidence of introgression". Conservation Genetics 3 (4): 401–409. doi:10.1023/A:1020523303815.
- ↑ Thing, H. (1984). "Feeding ecology of the West Greenland caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus) in the Sisimiut-Kangerlussuaq region [vegetation, food selection, forage quality, rumen samples, chemical analysis, migration [1984]"]. Danish Review of Game Biology (Denmark). http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=XE8420927. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
- ↑ "Caribou". Greenland Institute of Natural Resources. http://www.natur.gl/en/birds-and-mammals/terrestrial-mammals/caribou-reindeer/.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "Animal life in Greenland – an introduction by the tourist board". Narsaq Tourist Office. n.d.. http://www.greenland-guide.gl/animal_life.htm.
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