Holarctic realm

The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region (which covers most of North America), and Alfred Wallace's Palearctic zoogeographical region (which covers North Africa, and all of Eurasia except for Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the southern Arabian Peninsula). These regions are further subdivided into a variety of ecoregions. Many ecosystems and the animal and plant communities that depend on them extend across a number of continents and cover large portions of the Holarctic realm. This continuity is the result of those regions’ shared glacial history. Within the Holarctic realm, there are a variety of ecosystems. The type of ecosystem found in a given area depends on its latitude and the local geography. In the far north, a band of Arctic tundra encircles the shore of the Arctic Ocean. The ground beneath this land is permafrost (frozen year-round). In these difficult growing conditions, few plants can survive. South of the tundra, the boreal forest stretches across North America and Eurasia. This land is characterized by coniferous trees. Further south, the ecosystems become more diverse. Some areas are temperate grassland, while others are temperate forests dominated by deciduous trees. Many of the southernmost parts of the Holarctic are deserts, which are dominated by plants and animals adapted to the dry conditions. A variety of animal species are distributed across continents, throughout much of the Holarctic realm. These include the brown bear, grey wolf, red fox, wolverine, moose, caribou, golden eagle and common raven. The brown bear (Ursus arctos) is found in mountainous and semi-open areas distributed throughout the Holarctic. It once occupied much larger areas, but has been driven out by human development and the resulting habitat fragmentation. Today it is only found in remaining wilderness areas.