Outside Russia very little is known about the terrestrial ecology, vegetation, biogeographical patterns, and biodiversity of the enormously extensive ecosystems of Yakutia, Siberia. These systems are very special in that they function on top of huge layers of permafrost and are exposed to very severe and extreme weather conditions, the range between winter and summer temperatures being more than 100 degrees C. The soils are generally poor, and human use of the vegetation is usually extensive.
This book describes all the main vegetation types along with their ecology and ecophysiological characteristics. The analyses are drawn from many years of research in Yakutia and from a vast body of ecological and other literature in Russian publications and in unpublished local reports.