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Animal Species | Plant Monitoring | Climate Impact on the Ecosystem | Carbon Cycle

plant monitoring

		Introduction
Introduction     Wetlands     Mesic Communities		Plants are the essential basis of most terrestrial ecosystems. Classified as primary producers, they are able to produce their own food, transforming non living matter into living matter. They also constitute the main food resource of a large variety of animals, including some Arctic mammals and birds.

Bylot Island is often referred to as being a Polar Oasis, hosting rare plant productivity for an Arctic ecosystem. Its exceptional plant productivity is the reason why so many birds and mammals chose Bylot Island for breeding and raising their young. Monitoring wetlands’ productivity and the impact of goose grazing has been an important aspect of the ecological studies and environmental monitoring on Bylot Island. In another perspective, plants can act as strong indicators of environmental changes. Our project is involved with the International Tundra Experiment (ITEX) that seeks to examine the response of selected Arctic plant species to environmental changes, such as increasing air temperatures. Click on one project to discover some of our findings.