Flora and Fauna
See also: List of species on Severnaya ZemlyaSevernaya Zemlya is a polar desert with sparse vegetation and permafrost at less than 50 cm. Rare vascular plants include species of Cerastium and Saxifraga. Non-vascular plants include the moss genera Detrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium and Tortura, as well as the lichen genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia and Parmelia.
According to a survey of prior observations by De Korte, Volkov, and Gavrilo, thirty-two bird species have been observed on Severnaya Zemlya, 17 of which are known to breed on the islands. Eight species are widespread across the archipelago: five species of colonial seabirds: little auk (Alle alle), Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), black guillemot (Cepphus grylle), ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea), and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus); and three species of tundra bird: the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), purple sandpiper (Calidris maritima), and brent goose (Branta bernicla).
The most common mammal on Severnaya Zemlya is the collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus), which is present on all of the large islands and, in some places has been recorded to reach a density of 500 per km² (1,300 per sq mi) . The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) has been known to den on the islands, with several hundred observed in the 1980s. Other mammals occasionally observed include the wolf (Canis lupus), ermine (Mustela erminea), and Arctic hare (Lepus timidus), and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).
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