Long-term Patterns of Change in High-latitude and Altitude Terrestrial Ecosystems: An Update on IPY: Back to the Future

In the absence of long-term monitoring, revisiting, re-sampling and assessing environmental change that has occurred at Arctic terrestrial research sites established several decades ago represent a largely untapped change detection capacity. The primary objective of 'Back to the Future', a three-year International Polar Year (IPY) project (#214), is to determine how key structural and functional characteristics of high latitude/altitude terrestrial ecosystems have changed over the past 25 or more years and assess if such trajectories of change are likely to continue in the future. In this presentation, we report an update of the resampling efforts in several Arctic (Barrow, Alaska, Atqasuk, Alaska and Baffin Island, Canada). Preliminary results suggest that differential vegetation shifts along soil moisture gradients seems to be primary driver of recent change and may be an indirect result of warmer temperatures. Additionally, we report on the first international Back to the Future meeting held recently, present our near future plans and relay our openness to increased collaboration.