A low-Arctic tundra site in the Kytalyk nature reserve (70.82N, 147.47E) in the Indigirka lowlands in northeast Siberia, Russia. Within a distance of 50km, four tundra vegetation types and the tundra-taiga boundary are occurring according to the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map (CAVM). On-going research in the selected Siberian area focuses on the carbon and energy budget, and shrub encroachment; biodiversity is not systematically addressed. Assessing biodiversity and related feedbacks is highly relevant, now that the northern Siberian coast has become seasonally ice-free and will be exposed to increasing economic interests. It is one of two main sites of Project 1.