Myers-Smith, Isla

Isla investigates global change drivers and impacts with a focus on tundra ecosystems. She works at sites across in the Canadian North and conducts data syntheses at tundra-biome and global scales. Over two decades of research in the Arctic, she has studied how tundra ecosystems beyond the latitudinal and elevational treeline are responding to climate change. Her research explores how an accelerating warming is leading to a ‘greening’ of the Arctic including an increase in shrubs, shifts in the timing of plant growth and altered tundra biodiversity. Her research group works with a variety of tools from measuring tapes and quadrants through to time-lapse cameras, drones and satellite data to capture tundra vegetation change across scales. Isla communicates to broad audiences and works collaboratively with local communities to better understand environmental change in the Arctic and beyond.