Physiological and Ecological Studies on an Arctic Vegetation: I. The Vegetation of Jan Mayen Island

Abstract

The botanical programme of the Imperial College of Science Expedition to Jan Mayen, 1938 is descr. In addition to ecological surveys, detailed physiological work was undertaken to show the effects of aspects of the arctic environment on metabolism and growth. The present paper contains a general ecological description and an account of the geography (with map) and climate of the island. The island is small and situated in the Greenland sea, lat. 71[degree]N. The known flora contains 58 spp. flowering plants with much more numerous lichens and mosses. The present authors classified the vegetation into 22 types determined with regard to both habitat and vegetation. These types are described and the effect of climatic factors on the development of the vegetation is discussed. Successional relationships are briefly considered.