Vostok's major portion is covered with a pure stand of Pisonia trees rooted in moist peat soil one meter thick.

[5] Although coconut seedlings were planted on Vostok in 1922 they failed to grow despite being successfully cultivated on the nearby islands of Caroline and Flint.

The Polynesian rat and the copper-tailed skink (Emoia cyanura), together with coconut crabs and green turtles, completes the known land fauna.

[6] In 1841, the island was visited by USS Porpoise of the United States Exploring Expedition, which was unable to land due to heavy surf.

The coal barque Tokatea was wrecked on the island in 1879, with its crew making the first recorded landing and subsequently escaping to Tetiꞌaroa in the ship's boats.

[8][9] In 2014 the Kiribati government announced the establishment of a 12-nautical-mile fishing exclusion zone around each of the southern Line Islands (Caroline, Flint, Vostok, Malden, and Starbuck).