The Greening of the Yukon:
How shrubification is reshaping biodiversity in tundra and boreal forest ecosystems

​Lori Schroeder Memorial lecture ​

Who: Prof. Isla Myers-Smith, Canada Excellence Research Chair
Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship https://teamshrub.com/ 

What: The impacts of rapid climate change are shown by the extensive greening apparent in satellite records and by vegetation change on the ground. Answering questions of when, where and why vegetation has changed is critical to predicting future change and informing wildlife management. In our research, we are finding increasing shrub cover, altered timing of plant growth and accelerating permafrost thaw, with all of these changes altering the habitat for wildlife including caribou, migratory birds and insect pollinators. I will share our research findings to date and how working collaboratively with Indigenous communities and Northern partners is strengthening our collective understanding of how Yukon biodiversity is being impacted by accelerating climate change.