Page 44 - An-introduction-to-Svalbard

PLANTS

Svalbard is not exactly a hothouse, the fact is that plants can only live on some 7% of the land
area. There are approximately 164 species of native plants growing on Svalbard, plus at least 6 -7
species that were introduced by man. A particular phenomenon of the Arctic is the permafrost,
which means that the ground stays frozen, down to a depth of some 150 to 300 metres. The
frozen ground is actually an advantage for plants, because there is very little precipitation
throughout the year and the permafrost prevents surface water from draining downward. When
the upper layer of the frozen ground melts in the summer, the plants actually wallow in moisture.
The flora is astonishingly rich for being this far north and most species are naturally found on the
milder west side. The slopes underneath the bird cliffs offer good conditions for plants to grow
and the floral displays in summer are very impressive. Trees and shrubs are limited to willow and,
in a few sheltered places dwarf birch, but both tend to crawl on the ground and do not reach
many centimetres in height. On the north and east sides of Spitsbergen, and the islands further
east, the climate is much harsher and the vegetation far more sparse.

Arctic cinquefoil (Potentilla hyparctica) Alpine arnica (Arnica angustifolia) Arctic bellflower (Campanula uniflora)

Arctic cottongrass (Eriophorum scheuchzeri) Boreal Jacob’s ladder (Polemonium boreale) Wahlberg’s campion (Silene wahlbergella)

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