Country

Falkland Islands: one ecoregion. Each with its climate now and toward 2050, and its conservation tier.

One ecoregion accounts for the Falkland Islands: the Patagonian steppe, the cool temperate grassland system the islands share with the nearby South American mainland. That single fact describes the place well. This is treeless, wind-swept grass and dwarf-shrub country, cool in summer, not severely cold in winter by continental standards, and dry enough that grassland rather than forest is the natural cover. No native trees means every tree on the islands is planted and sheltered. Gardening here is a wind problem first: hedges, walls, and siting decide success, and the reliable palette is hardy grasses, cushion and mat plants, and tough cool-climate perennials, with vegetables and softer ornamentals doing best under protection.