The species breeds near lakes, pools, rivers and streams in high Arctic tundra or the taiga forest zone (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014). Taiga nesting populations show a preference for scrubby birch (Betula spp.) forest and dense spruce forest with bogs or mires (Madge and Burn 1988), whereas tundra-based populations nest on damp tundra of moss, grass, sedge or scrub (Johnsgard 1978) near river flood-plains (but above flood levels) on Arctic islands and in Arctic coastal regions (Madge and Burn 1988). During the winter and on passage the species inhabits marshes, agricultural land (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014), damp steppe grassland (Madge and Burn 1988), flood-lands, rivers and coastal shallows (Snow and Perrins 1998) in open country. It also roosts on lakes, rivers and flood-lands in Europe during this season. Populations that breed in the taiga nest in early-May, with those breeding in the tundra nesting one month later in early-June (Kear 2005). The species builds a nest of vegetation in a shallow scrape on the ground and clutch size is generally four to six eggs. The species is herbivorous, its diet consisting of herbs, grasses, sedges (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014) and mosses (Johnsgard 1978), complemented during the breeding season by berries. During the winter it feeds predominantly on agricultural land taking grain, beans, potatoes (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014) and sprouting winter cereal crops (Kear 2005). This species is strongly migratory and travels between breeding grounds in the high Arctic to wintering grounds in the temperate and subtropical zones (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014).

Although the generation length for both EU and Europe regional assessments were calculated using the same methodology, new information arriving after the EU assessments were undertaken gave rise to an update in the generation lengths. This new information was then used for the Europe level assessments giving rise to a difference between the generation lengths used for the EU and Europe regions.

In Europe, this species breeds almost entirely in Russia, with small populations also present in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
In winter, it occurs largely in Germany, and also notably in the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

Conservation Actions Underway
EU Directives Annex II. CMS Appendix II. Bern Convention Appendix III. The species is listed on the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement. Compensatory payments are paid to farmers in the Netherlands; as a result research has been undertaked focusing on minimizing damage by altering land use in agricultural areas and restoring original habitats for wintering geese (Carboneras and Kirwan 2014). In many countries, counts of the species and monitoring are carried out each year. International protection of key wetland habitats for the species is provided by Special Protection Areas, Ramsar and the Bern Convention (Hearn 2004).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Better quality and more widespread monitoring is needed for this species, particularly to assess the impact of hunting. A Flyway Management Plan is essential for international co-ordination of monitoring (Hearn 2004). More key sites should be protected and management and conservation needs should be integrated. Stricter regulation on hunting and persecution should be implemented.