low Arcticadj.n.
/ˌləʊ ˈɑːktɪk/, U.S. /ˌloʊ ˈɑrktɪk/, /ˌloʊ ˈɑrdɪk/ A. adj.
Designating the part of the Arctic lying between the high Arctic and the subarctic, whose southern boundary lies approximately at the northern limit of tree growth; of, relating to, or inhabiting these regions.Most of the low Arctic is covered with vegetation of the tundra type, with some shrubs.
ΚΠ
1924 Geografiska Annaler 6 222 Species with this distribution are Low-Arctic-Boreal or Low-Arctic.
1976 New Scientist 23 Dec. 754 We have a division into high and low arctic regions, certainly important to bird-life at the 5°C July isotherm.
2013 Irish Times (Nexis) 23 Mar. 6 The scoter breeding range is the ‘low Arctic’ belt, stretching round the world at the level of Arctic Russia.
B. n.
With the. The low Arctic regions.
ΚΠ
1934 Jrnl. Washington Acad. Sci. 24 167 In the low arctic, fellfield is restricted to exposed and unfavorable situations.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 27 Aug. 8/8 Dr. Bliss said few Canadians realize the Arctic is divided into two distinct biological areas—the High Arctic and the Low Arctic.
2011 J. P. Rafferty Biomes & Ecosystems iv. 124 In the Low Arctic, most land surfaces are fully vegetated, with the exception of rock outcrops, dry ridge tops, river gravel bars, and scree slopes.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1924