Arctic Science Summit

Landscape ecologist JJ Frost attended the Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Science Initiative (CAVSI) workshop during the Arctic Science Summit Week in Boulder, Colorado. CAVSI brings together Arctic vegetation researchers from around the world to address critical research priorities related to Arctic vegetation. The initiative’s goals include establishing a cohesive circumpolar framework for monitoring changes in Arctic vegetation, which involves:

(1) creating a network of sites across diverse Arctic climates, phytogeographic regions, and local habitats,

(2) developing standardized methods to describe and monitor local floras, vegetation composition, and environmental factors,

(3) building a pan-Arctic vegetation plot archive to store both legacy and recent plot data, (4) creating a data information system that can manage a wide range of datasets,(5) establishing a consistent hierarchical classification of Arctic vegetation, and (6) maintaining an archive of Arctic vegetation and land cover maps. JJ was invited to serve as a panelist, where he discussed the use of both field-based and remote sensing datasets to address knowledge gaps related to current conditions and recent changes in Arctic ecosystems.

As a long-time participant and leader in various field monitoring and research activities in the circumpolar region, JJ shared his insights on the knowledge gaps, challenges, and opportunities CAVSI could focus on in the years ahead.