Oceanic Meadow Zones

natural zones adjacent to the ocean in the temperate zones of the northern and southern hemispheres and in the subarctic and subantarctic zones. Oceanic meadow zones include island and coastal continental areas in the northern Pacific (Alaska, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Aleutian, Komandorskie, and Kuril islands), and in the southern hemisphere, these natural zones are found on islands located between 50° and 56° S lat. (the Falkland, South Georgia, and other islands). In the northern Atlantic similar landscapes are found in southern Greenland and Iceland, in the northern Scandinavian Peninsula, and in the Faeroes.

Oceanic meadow zones have a cool oceanic climate (radiation balance 420–840 megajoules per cu m or 10–20 kilocalories per sq cm), with average monthly temperatures ranging from –10°C to 11 °C. Precipitation occurs throughout the year and significantly exceeds evaporation. Cold summers and strong winds prevent the growth of trees, and short-grass meadows on soddy-gley soils predominate. Above 200–400 m, oceanic meadows are usually replaced by mountain tundra. There are few animals, and land mammals are represented primarily by small rodents.