APPENDICES 



FLORA AND FAUNA ON THE NORTH COAST 

 OF GREENLAND 



BASED ON DB. WULFF'S NOTES 

 By C. H. OSTENFELD 



PAGE after page of Thorild Wulff's diaries testify to the fact that his 

 thoughts occupied themselves greatly with the problem : How is it 

 possible for plants and animals to live and reproduce themselves under 

 such harsh conditions of life as the high Arctic regions offer, and what peculiari- 

 ties are they which enable them to do so? 



The problem is not a new one. On the contrary, it has forced itself 

 upon every Arctic explorer who keenly observes the natural characteristics of 

 the regions through which he travels. In the course of time numerous con- 

 tributions have appeared with regard to this problem, but many aspects are 

 still unsolved. Neither do Wulff's notes present a final and exhaustive reply, 

 but they contain several new observations and conclusions, thus forming new 

 stones to be added to the many-roomed building of our knowledge. 



FLORA 



In the Arctic countries, as everywhere else upon earth, the flora forms 

 the foundation for the fauna. Where no plant exists, no animal life is pos- 

 sible, for all creation of organic matter is due to plants. The animals, on the 

 other hand, are merely consumers. If they are herbivorous they consume 

 directly vegetable matter, and if they are carnivorous they consume the flesh 

 of herbivorous animals. In both cases we find as the last instance the plants 

 as the bearers of life. 



When we consider the flora and fauna of the north coast of Greenland, it 

 would therefore seem natural that we should commence by an examination of 

 the flora, investigating the conditions of life with which they must contend. 

 The climatic conditions are anything but favourable, and only the hardiest 

 plants with the most modest requirements can exist in these regions ; therefore 

 the number of plant varieties is only small — about sixty flowering plants — and 

 they all bear a certain common stamp. 



In order to thrive a plant requires : Nourishment from the soil, a certain 

 amount of heat and moisture, and light. The first condition is fulfilled almost 

 everywhere in the Arctic regions, so poor in plant life, by the presence of 

 nutritive salts. The soil produced by disintegration (frost, etc.) is as a rule 

 more than sufficient for this purpose, as the plants do not grow so closely that 

 they have to fight with each other for the nourishment in the ground. This 

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