Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic
The Byrranga Mountains (Gory Byrranga) are the most northern mountainous massif of the Taymyr Peninsula (Poluostrov Taymyr) in the Russian Arctic. Although studies of them began in 1736, they are one of the least studied areas of the Arctic. The region has no population, is remote, and has difficult...
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0032247404003833 2024-03-03T08:41:38+00:00 Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic Pospelova, Elena B. Pospelov, Igor N. Zhulidov, Alexander V. Robarts, Richard D. Zhulidova, Olga V. Zhulidov, Daniel A. Gurtovaya, Tatyana Yu. 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003833 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247404003833 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Polar Record volume 40, issue 4, page 327-344 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development journal-article 2004 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003833 2024-02-08T08:31:33Z The Byrranga Mountains (Gory Byrranga) are the most northern mountainous massif of the Taymyr Peninsula (Poluostrov Taymyr) in the Russian Arctic. Although studies of them began in 1736, they are one of the least studied areas of the Arctic. The region has no population, is remote, and has difficult access. As a result, the mountainous tundra ecosystems are preserved practically in a pristine state. The mountains are composed of siltstones and intrusive rocks of neutral composition; vast areas along all the mountain chain are occupied by exposed limestone. Rivers flow in deep intermontane depressions while lakes are found mainly in faults. The climate is an extremely severe continental type. Microclimatic areas provide some relief and support a rich and diverse flora. There have been 391 species and subspecies of vascular plants recorded, but no reliable data on the number of species of mosses and lichens are available. Relict thickets of tall willows are found in protected valleys of piedmont brooks, whereas relict alder-tree thickets occur on warm slopes. The mountain fauna includes nine mammal and 56 bird species. Intermontane depressions serve as corridors for seasonal migrations of wild reindeer that usually spend summers in the southern piedmont areas. Northern piedmonts and wide intermontane depressions are places where herds of musk-ox, introduced in the 1970s, concentrate. The bird fauna of relict willow thickets is highly specific and the fish fauna is quite diverse (16 species), but some species in Taymyr Lake (Ozero Taymyr) have been overexploited. This paper provides the first detailed biogeographical description of the Byrranga Mountains in English. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic musk ox Polar Record Taymyr Taymyr Peninsula Tundra Cambridge University Press Arctic Ozero ENVELOPE(162.051,162.051,57.057,57.057) Poluostrov Taymyr ENVELOPE(107.695,107.695,75.361,75.361) Ozero Taymyr ENVELOPE(102.649,102.649,74.578,74.578) Gory Byrranga ENVELOPE(96.029,96.029,74.488,74.488) Polar Record 40 4 327 344 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
spellingShingle |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development Pospelova, Elena B. Pospelov, Igor N. Zhulidov, Alexander V. Robarts, Richard D. Zhulidova, Olga V. Zhulidov, Daniel A. Gurtovaya, Tatyana Yu. Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
topic_facet |
General Earth and Planetary Sciences Ecology Geography, Planning and Development |
description |
The Byrranga Mountains (Gory Byrranga) are the most northern mountainous massif of the Taymyr Peninsula (Poluostrov Taymyr) in the Russian Arctic. Although studies of them began in 1736, they are one of the least studied areas of the Arctic. The region has no population, is remote, and has difficult access. As a result, the mountainous tundra ecosystems are preserved practically in a pristine state. The mountains are composed of siltstones and intrusive rocks of neutral composition; vast areas along all the mountain chain are occupied by exposed limestone. Rivers flow in deep intermontane depressions while lakes are found mainly in faults. The climate is an extremely severe continental type. Microclimatic areas provide some relief and support a rich and diverse flora. There have been 391 species and subspecies of vascular plants recorded, but no reliable data on the number of species of mosses and lichens are available. Relict thickets of tall willows are found in protected valleys of piedmont brooks, whereas relict alder-tree thickets occur on warm slopes. The mountain fauna includes nine mammal and 56 bird species. Intermontane depressions serve as corridors for seasonal migrations of wild reindeer that usually spend summers in the southern piedmont areas. Northern piedmonts and wide intermontane depressions are places where herds of musk-ox, introduced in the 1970s, concentrate. The bird fauna of relict willow thickets is highly specific and the fish fauna is quite diverse (16 species), but some species in Taymyr Lake (Ozero Taymyr) have been overexploited. This paper provides the first detailed biogeographical description of the Byrranga Mountains in English. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pospelova, Elena B. Pospelov, Igor N. Zhulidov, Alexander V. Robarts, Richard D. Zhulidova, Olga V. Zhulidov, Daniel A. Gurtovaya, Tatyana Yu. |
author_facet |
Pospelova, Elena B. Pospelov, Igor N. Zhulidov, Alexander V. Robarts, Richard D. Zhulidova, Olga V. Zhulidov, Daniel A. Gurtovaya, Tatyana Yu. |
author_sort |
Pospelova, Elena B. |
title |
Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
title_short |
Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
title_full |
Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biogeography of the Byrranga Mountains, Taymyr Peninsula, Russian Arctic |
title_sort |
biogeography of the byrranga mountains, taymyr peninsula, russian arctic |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003833 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247404003833 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(162.051,162.051,57.057,57.057) ENVELOPE(107.695,107.695,75.361,75.361) ENVELOPE(102.649,102.649,74.578,74.578) ENVELOPE(96.029,96.029,74.488,74.488) |
geographic |
Arctic Ozero Poluostrov Taymyr Ozero Taymyr Gory Byrranga |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ozero Poluostrov Taymyr Ozero Taymyr Gory Byrranga |
genre |
Arctic musk ox Polar Record Taymyr Taymyr Peninsula Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic musk ox Polar Record Taymyr Taymyr Peninsula Tundra |
op_source |
Polar Record volume 40, issue 4, page 327-344 ISSN 0032-2474 1475-3057 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247404003833 |
container_title |
Polar Record |
container_volume |
40 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
327 |
op_container_end_page |
344 |
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1792497301711749120 |