Four people have travelled by helicopter to a remote and underexplored area of Nunavut in Canada’s north to survey and collect hundreds of plants. They are part of an ambitious project by the Canadian Museum of Nature to create a flora, or scientific reference for about 800 species of plants in the Canadian Arctic and northern Alaska. They will examine the limits of where trees grow, to see whether that is moving as the climate changes and the tundra-like vegetation that grows beyond. This will include several varieties of trees stunted by the harsh weather.
RCI’s Lynn Desjardins spoke with Paul Sokoloff, a research assistant in the museum’s botany department just before he and other team members left.
Listen
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.