Our history

The idea for the Global Treeline Range Expansion Experiment was first developed at the final meeting of PPS Arctic, an International Polar Year (IPY) research group focussed on treeline dynamics under climate change. With the closing of IPY research and associated funding, our group brainstormed ideas to keep the momentum of treeline research active. Following that discussion, we drafted a protocol for the field experiment, and began discussing the project with other treeline researchers. Our network of collaborators improved with the addition of members of alpine research institutes in Europe, North America, and South America, and the participation of individuals working at long-term monitoring sites such as GLORIA. We continue to expand our network monthly, and hope to delve into the southern hemisphere in the coming year.

Our protocol

We use a standardized protocol at our G-TREE sites, which can be found here. The G-TREE protocols should be cited as:

Brown, C.D., J.F. Johnstone, S.D. Mamet, and A.J. Trant. 2013. Global Treeline Range Expansion Experiment Field Protocols. www.treelineresearch.com.

Our team

G-TREE is a true collaborative network in that every member contributes to its development and success. Our protocols were developed with the participation of each researcher, and we are constantly looking to improve our research program via active feedback from network members. There are, however, a few people that keep the inner workings of G-TREE moving smoothly. Our coordinators are:

Carissa Brown, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Jill Johnstone, University of Saskatchewan

Steve Mamet, University of Saskatchewan

Andrew Trant, University of Victoria