Formally speaking, the subpolar zone forms the transition between the polar zone and the cold-temperate climate zone. In this category, we include the regions with the tundra landscape type, which occurs in almost all high-altitude areas above the tree line due to the climatic conditions, but also include the cold-temperate zone of boreal coniferous forests.
Tundras are open, treeless areas of land where temperatures are only above freezing for about 30 to 90 days a year, so that grasses, mosses, lichens, herbs and dwarf shrubs as well as heaths grow. Due to the very short growing season, the flowering period of many plants, which can take place at different times elsewhere, occurs simultaneously in the tundras. Snow lies in the polar tundras for eight to eleven months, the warmest month reaches temperatures between -6° C and 6° C at maximum.1)
The fauna is characterised by mammals such as reindeer, tundra wolves and mountain hares, as well as typical tundra birds such as ducks, falcons, geese, snowy owls, ptarmigans, tundra swans and many more. In the tundras of the southern hemisphere, vegetation and fauna are significantly less diverse than in the northern hemisphere.1)
Today, at the beginning of the 3rd millennium, over 60% of the tundra is still uninhabited and in a largely uninfluenced, natural state. Around 20% can still be categorised as near-natural and only slightly influenced by humans.1)
Indigenous peoples still live in the near-natural tundras today. As traditional nomadic reindeer herders, fishermen and hunters, meat production still plays an important role for some of them in securing their livelihood and satisfying their basic needs.2)
The boreal coniferous forest is an exclusively northern vegetation zone and is also known as the taiga or cold temperate zone. The total area covers almost 20 million square kilometres or around 13% of the Earth's mainland.3a) The fauna of these forests is characterised by moose, deer, bears, wolves, foxes, mountain hares and some bird species.
The growing season lasts approximately 90 - 180 days. In the coldest month, average temperatures fall below 0° C with a minimum of below -40° C. The warmest month averages between 5° C and 20° C, although the temperature can rise to over 30° C in summer.4)
Indigenous peoples who have not completely adopted an industrialised culture still live in the areas close to nature. In addition to hunting, fishing and gathering, reindeer also play a decisive role for them, but with much smaller herds compared to the inhabitants of the tundra.4) With only around 5 inhabitants per square kilometre, the boreal forest areas are very sparsely populated.3b)
We hope to meet people in the subpolar regions who are open and willing to share their traditional methods of food production with us.
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We'll continue with the basics in our next blog post:
References:
1) Cf. Wikipedia, 2024: Tundra, taken from the internet on 29.03.2024, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra
2) Cf. Wikipedia, 2024: Nenzen, taken from the internet on 29.03.2024, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nenzen
3) Cf. Schultz, J., 2016: Die Ökozonen der Erde, 5. Auflage, a) Page 115, b) Page 132, Eugen Ulmer KG, Stuttgart, ISBN 978-3-8252-4628-0
4) Cf. Wikipedia, 2024: Borealer Nadelwald, taken from the internet on 29.03.2024, https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borealer_Nadelwald